Verstappen shows he is a class apart once again in Qatar and gets top mark

After Red Bull Racing looked completely lost in the sprint format in Qatar, Verstappen struck back in qualifying. The Dutchman captured pole position and was nine-tenths faster than his teammate. In the race, Verstappen had to start one place further back, but at the start, Verstappen already outsmarted George Russell and also held off Lando Norris. In the rest of the race too, Norris never got close enough to launch an attack.

Nobody can match Verstappen

The other drivers from the top teams largely disappointed. Lando Norris threw away a good result by overlooking a yellow flag and received a ten-second stop-and-go penalty, George Russell did not keep enough distance during the safety car, and Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez did not seem to have the pace at all this weekend.

Pierre Gasly and Fernando Alonso drove very good races in the Middle East. Gasly drove to fifth place and with it ten crucial points for the team, after also being close to the points in the sprint race. Alonso was also finally back in the top ten, fighting his way to a handsome seventh place despite some problems with the car.

Besides Perez and Hamilton, there were a few more drivers who scored a failing grade in Qatar. For instance, Lance Stroll was once again much slower than Alonso and seemed to be almost asking for the race to be stopped after a penalty.

Figures after Qatar Grand Prix

*Ocon and Colapinto received no rating as they barely got into action in the race due to a race incident

GPblog F1 Ratings after Qatar

This article was written in collaboration with Olly Darcy

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