Piastri wins the Sprint Race in Qatar as Verstappen secures his third title

Oscar Piastri won an eventful sprint race in Qatar with three safety cars. Max Verstappen finished second behind the Australian and officially became a world champion in the desert. Lando Norris was the last person to step on the podium in the sprint race.

George Russell could bring home his Mercedes in P4, while Lewis Hamilton finished in fifth place after his mediums began to work well and was able to overtake the two Ferraris on the final lap. Carlos Sainz finished in P6 ahead of Charles Leclerc, and Alexander Albon was the last driver who could earn a point in Qatar on Saturday after he crossed the finish line in P8.

As it happened

Oscar Piastri had a great start off the line, unlike his teammate, Lando Norris, who was slow on the medium tyres. Drivers on the softs, including Russell and the two Ferraris had the better line in the first corner after besting Norris, and could follow through the Australian. Verstappen also had a slower start and lost three positions after the start.

The first lap did not go down without an incident, as Liam Lawson lost the rear end of his car and ended up in the gravel trap. His AlphaTauri was stuck, which meant that the Safety Car was called out.

On the restart, Russell could stay close to Piastri’s McLaren and was able to overtake him in the second sector. Fernando Alonso was also eager to overtake Lando Norris, but after a tough battle, Alonso was overtaken by Esteban Ocon. On Lap 4, the Safety Car made his second appearance this afternoon, as Logan Sargeant also lost control over his car and similarly to Lawson ended up in a gravel trap.

Russell did well on the second restart as well, and quickly built a one-second gap to Piastri, while the Australian had to defend against Carlos Sainz. After his slower start, Verstappen started to gain momentum on his mediums and quickly overtook the two Ferraris ahead of him by Lap 10. The McLarens also started to make their mediums work and Oscar Piastri regained the lead on Lap 11, while Norris also overtook Charles Leclerc around the outside in Turn 1.

On Lap 11, after Esteban Ocon made contact with Nico Hülkenberg which also caused Sergio Perez to crash out, the Safety Car was called out for the third time. Ocon and Perez were stuck in the gravel trap, and Hulkenberg eventually retired in the pit lane. As a result of the Mexican driver’s retirement from the sprint race, Max Verstappen became a three-time world champion in Qatar.

Piastri's second lead-out was not better than his first one, but this time, he could keep the lead in the sprint race. On Lap 16, with the championship already secured, Verstappen got up to P2 after overtaking Russell’s Mercedes. The Briton also started to struggle on his soft tyres and was eventually overtaken by Lando Norris as well.