Verstappen: Call at the pit stop made me win

Verstappen had one target on Sunday night in Qatar, and that was to deny Lando Norris a maiden Formula 1 title and drag the fight until the last moment of the season, at the finale in Abu Dhabi one week from now.

The Dutchman started his race well, passing Norris at the start into Turn 1 and setting off to chase Oscar Piastri, who was leading and safe ahead, which indicated that beating him would be tough.

But then, and like they did in Las Vegas, McLaren faltered when it mattered and decided to prioritize track position, keeping both their drivers out when a Safety Car came out on Lap 7 to clear Nico Hulkenberg's crashed Sauber following contact with Pierre Gasly.

Red Bull and Verstappen, on the other hand, pounced and pitted, which ended up being the key decision that allowed the reigning F1 Champion to take his seventh win this season, as he only needed to stop one time while both McLarens needed to stop twice given the 25-lap stint mandated by Pirelli for the tyres.

"I didn't expect to win today, that's for sure," Verstappen told the media after the race. "Looking at pure pace, we were not on the same level as McLaren.

"But we made the right call, as most of the grid did, in boxing under the safety car. That almost gives you a free pit stop, and that made the race for me.

"I knew after that pit stop it was going to be two long stints on the tyre in terms of tyre wear, but we managed that very well, and they didn't really catch up too much. It was all under control. For sure, that call at the pit stop made me win the race today."

Verstappen, in an interview ahead of the race, has pointed out that McLaren have messed up quite a lot this season and that he would've won the Title much earlier had he been in the MCL39, a statement that irked Norris.

But the Red Bull star insisted the Qatar Grand Prix was another example of McLaren failing to maximize their result on a day when they had the fastest car and said: "It was another one [example of other people's failures]."

There were murmurs after that McLaren did not pit under the Safety Car to uphold Papaya rules, as it wouldn't have been fair to Norris, who would've been delayed being the second car in a double stack.

But Verstappen disagreed' saying: "I don't think it was about [McLaren] playing too fair today; it was about missing the whole pit stop opportunity.

"On pure pace they are faster, but as it showed today again, anything is possible," he concluded.

Verstappen is now second in the 2025 F1 Drivers' Championship, 12 points behind Norris and four ahead of Piastri who dropped to third.

(Quotes from Sky Sports F1)