Qatar GP: Max Verstappen affirms his championship claim

Qatar GP: Max Verstappen affirms his championship claim

Max Verstappen's domination slowed after the midyear break, but his late-season lunge further improved his performance after claiming his fourth title last week. However, the question remains of who will take home the constructor’s championship. McLaren retains the lead, for now, but Ferrari is hot on its tail with one race left.

The Qatar GP is a fairly new addition to the F1 calendar. Although this new circuit may lack the iconic status of classics like Spa or Monaco, it’s a track designed with plenty of overtaking opportunity. That, along with the fact that it's a night race, like Vegas and Singapore, makes for an intriguing spectacle. Due to its complex yet lengthy 5.419-kilometre layout, it offers an exciting addition of a sprint race to further diversify the outcome of a race weekend.

This year, the battle for the World Driver's Championship had concluded the week prior, so the attitude ahead of this past weekend's race favoured the teams over the individual performances. This weekend was split into two races, and McLaren appeared to have the pace ahead of the sprint race, with Norris taking pole and Piastri coming in third. The Ferraris followed and needed an early overtake to have a shot at clawing closer to the constructor’s title.

The sprint race proved to be disappointing for the Scuderias as the McLarens led the way through the entirety of the race. Although Lando Norris put in an overall better drive compared to the rest of the field, the objective at this point is teamwork, and with the driver's title decided in favour of his Red Bull rival, he made the decision against his team's proposition to swap with Oscar Piastri ahead of the finish line to seal an impressive starting position for McLaren.

The following day brought with it a sense of pressure in the Ferrari stand, as a good performance over the McLarens was imperative for the season's title. George Russell has shown serious potential this year; however, his consistency has been less than desired. With that being said, he came to Qatar with speed in mind and set the fastest lap in qualifying. Verstappen, who appeared slower during the sprint session, showed up in qualifying, taking second with both McLarens in tow. Ferrari was trailing the McLarens and would need an early push in the race to produce a result worth writing to Maranello.

The race ahead was set to be an exciting one, but from the get-go, Verstappen left the field in his dust. The McLarens also proved to be fast off the line, but with many accidents ahead, Norris would fall short to an avoidable penalty, and Russell's poor mid-race stop would open the door for the Ferraris to close in on the McLarens in the later stages of the race.

A rogue Williams mirror played a vital role in the race results as it brought out a yellow flag, which Norris didn’t seem to notice. Verstappen made sure the FIA noticed Norris ignored the yellow flag, even after securing his title and demonstrating his competitive and no-mercy mindset. This resulted in a 10-second stop-go penalty, which realistically was a 35-second punishment, and in the process rewarding his teammate with third place. The mirror caused more than just a penalty but also provided two punctures, one to Russell and another to Carlos Sainz.

The mirror appeared to be the great equaliser of this race, as it effectively caused issues for each title-challenging team. Speaking of drivers, Red Bull has shown two stark contrasts, with one driver winning the championship and the other fighting to stay in the points. It was vital for Perez to score well this weekend to maximise Red Bull's odds at the Constructors' Championship, but cold tyres and too much power sent him to the bottom of the leaderboard and with it, Red Bull's chances at another 2024 title.

In the Ferrari camp, Charles Leclerc nursed his car home ahead of Piastri, with Norris finishing some distance behind Sainz, which means that the final race of the season is going to be an exciting one.

As for this weekend's race, it's just how we like it. Some drama, phenomenal racing, and a great circuit. Upsets were found in each team's performance, but they say if everything is perfect, it would be dull as dishwater.

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The final race of the season, held at Yas Marina in Abu Dhabi, will set the stage for the season's final bout. As the standings sit at the moment, McLaren has a comfortable lead over Ferrari, sitting with 640 points to 619. Red Bull is currently sitting in third with Mercedes trailing behind. Abu Dhabi has seen its fair share of infamous races, and while this forthcoming event is unlikely to produce the same level of enthusiasm as in 2021, F1 tends to deliver spectacle when we least expect it.

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