Qatar Grand Prix Takeaways: Relentless Verstappen vs bungling McLaren

Tuesday, 02 December 2025 at 09:10

The 2025 Formula 1 Drivers' Championship fight will go down to the wire at Abu Dhabi's season finale after Max Verstappen won the 2025 Qatar Grand Prix.

And while Verstappen appears to be doing all he can to win a fifth consecutive F1 Drivers' Crown, that does not seem to be the case with McLaren, who, for the second race weekend in a row, following their Las Vegas disqualification, goofed up and cost Oscar Piastri a win and Lando Norris a podium.

The Lusail International Circuit is a venue that was supposed to suit McLaren's MCL39, and that was the case indeed, as Verstappen struggled with a bouncy Red Bull RB21, which Red Bull could not really sort out given it was a Sprint weekend which meant they had only 60 minutes to work on the setup, which wasn't enough based on how Max performed in the Sprint Qualifying and the Sprint. He was outqualified by Yuki Tsunoda!!

And while changes between the Sprint and Qualifying improved the RB21, it remained off the pace of the MCL39, and it was only Verstappen's driving that dragged it to third on the grid and from there to the win as his team mastered the strategy as McLaren dropped the ball.

The Qatar Grand Prix did not deliver great racing, but with the extra Sprint points, the 25-lap limit Pirelli set for each set of tyres, and McLaren's tendency to shoot themselves in the foot, it turned out to be a drama-packed show.

That means Abu Dhabi will host another Title showdown, but before we get there, let's get some Takeaways from the 2025 Qatar Grand Prix.

Remember Barcelona?

Verstappen: Barcelona Russell incident a mistake from my side

While I have always maintained that any talk about an F1 GOAT does not make any sense, as we cannot compare drivers across different eras of the sport, there is no doubt that Verstappen is the GOAT of his era. When we look back on his career in the future, he may end up being "The GOAT".

It has been a privilege watching this genius at work, and we always struggle to find the words to describe him whenever he delivers mind-bending performances, and he does that frequently, especially in a season like this one where he has been fighting the might of the McLarens while handicapped by his RB21's shortcomings.

The fact that he remains in contention for this year's Title, albeit mathematically, is proof of how good a driver he is and the massive talent he possesses, and what is scary—to his rivals, that is—is the fact that he continues to improve.

But then, our Max is human after all and has moments of vulnerability, and a specific one he himself pointed out in 2025 was the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.

Without going back into the details, he banged wheels with Mercedes' George Russell following a Red Mist moment and was slapped with a penalty that dropped him to tenth at the chequered flag, consequently losing nine points.

The Dutchman recently said that he had maximized all the opportunities this season and highlighted Barcelona as the one that got away.

As he now sits 12 points behind Norris in the Drivers' Championship, that gap could've been three points had he behaved himself in Barcelona, which would've stacked the odds more in his favor as he heads to Abu Dhabi for the final race of the season.

If he wins a fifth Title, Max would be more than worthy of that, but should he fail to do so, he may end up ruing that brain fade moment he suffered in Barcelona. However, as I said, he remains human, a great one, a great driver, and we love Max for that.

Are McLaren doing this on purpose? Or was it Papaya Rules?

Such is the ridiculousness of McLaren's performance in Las Vegas and Qatar that you really need to question their willingness to win the Drivers' Title with one of their drivers—jokingly, that is.

When I was watching the race, I couldn't believe my eyes when McLaren stayed out when the Safety Car was deployed while Red Bull called Verstappen in.

Granted, they wanted to gain track position with Norris, who was passed by the Dutchman on Lap 1, so why not split strategies and bring Piastri in and protect his lead?

This way Norris wouldn't have been affected by the double stacking, and as a result, Piastri would've won, and Norris would've also had a chance to fight for a podium.

McLaren's pitwall decision reignited talks about Papaya Rules and Norris favoritism with the following logic:

If both drivers pitted, Piastri would've benefited, but not Norris... So either both drivers benefit or both get shafted.

So the second option was selected.

But having seen some of McLaren's strategy calls this season, I doubt they have the mental capacity to concoct such conspiracies.

As much as Verstappen is in Norris' head, and less so in Piastri's, the Red Bull man is also in the heads of all the McLaren personnel, it seems. After all, Zak Brown did label him as a horror movie monster who keeps coming back...

As a result, such panicky calls from the McLaren strategy team happen in the heat of the battle and the extreme pressure of fighting for their first Drivers' Championship since 1999, when Mika Hakkinen won it.

The only positive thing for McLaren is that Norris has some buffer to still win the Title in Abu Dhabi, that is, if he doesn't f@ck up big time... We won't have to wait long for that...

Smooooth Operatoooor!!

What a weekend that was for Carlos Sainz, F1's resident Smooth Operator, who was on fire all weekend at a track that shouldn't have suited his Williams FW47.

But as Sainz and Williams boss, James Vowles, revealed, the team have been experimenting with a different approach in setting up their car, which apparently paid dividends in Qatar, and apparently, the Spaniard has been the driving force behind this change behind the scenes at Grove.

As a result, Sainz qualified eighth for the Sprint, which he finished in the same place, scoring points. He then qualified seventh for the Grand Prix and went on to finish on the podium, a result that secured Williams' fifth place in the 2025 F1 Constructors' Standings.

And that is what Williams need from Sainz. To be a solid racing driver who can help develop and push the team forward with his experience. While he may not be the fastest driver out there in terms of pure pace, Sainz is one of the smartest racers who has a lot of analytical power in reserve to understand the race from within the cockpit.

After a shaky start to his Williams career, the former Ferrari and McLaren driver has now settled in and is beating his teammate, Alex Albon, more often, keeping in mind the Thai driver is no slouch. Sainz said his Qatar Grand Prix was his proudest day at Williams. He has all the right to feel that way!

Qatar Grand Prix Quick Hits

Qatar Grand Prix: Teams & Drivers report from Lusail

Fernando Alonso had a great weekend in Qatar, qualifying fourth for the Sprint and eighth for the Grand Prix. He could've finished higher than seventh in the race had it not been for that uncharacteristic spin that cost him two positions.
Even with that error, he managed to beat Lance Stroll by ten positions.
"Disturbing" is the word we can use to describe Ferrari's weekend in Qatar. Charles Leclerc, while better than Lewis Hamilton, was all over the place as the seven-time F1 Champion hit more lows as the Reds managed to use every opportunity to sort their car setup to make it worse.
One interview for Lewis in particular caught my attention when he was asked about the fans supporting him. He couldn't answer and was almost going to break into tears before gathering himself and answering.
Now we all know Sir Lewis is a bit of a drama queen, but at that moment, his pain was genuine, and it was just sad to see him in that position.
Despite some flirting with top positions, Mercedes did not have an impact. Russell was not stellar, while Kimi Antonelli did well had it not been for his error that allowed Norris through.
Any insinuation that he did it on purpose was wrong. Anyway, Red Bull apologized.
Speaking of that incident, and sorry Norris fans, but how does a driver fighting for the Championship, the chosen one in his team, fail to pass a rookie in an inferior car for so long? Did you see how Piastri passed Antonelli?
Tsunoda was better this weekend. Maybe knowing he won't be Verstappen's teammate in 2026 removed the pressure. Too late regardless.