Before the Qatar F1 Grand Prix even started at the Lusail International Circuit last Sunday, many race-related topics had surfaced over the weekend. Red Bull's Max Verstappen, courtesy of second place in Saturday's Sprint race, was crowned F1 World Champion for a third time, the overwhelming favourite according to most new betting sites in the UK didn't disappoint.
Possibly even more significant, though, was 22-year-old Australian Oscar Piastri winning the Sprint for McLaren. His teammate Lando Norris finished third, underlying McLaren's constant improvement over the season. This bodes well for more competitive racing over the coming months and beyond. Bettors looking for prime betting options would do well to consider this well-established team.
Piastri and Norris's McLarens only started 6th and 10th in the main race, though. In stark contrast, Verstappen qualified in pole position again, but his teammate Sergio Pérez endured a nightmare race weekend. He only qualified in a lowly 13th, before crashing out during the Sprint race to hand Verstappen the World Championship title.
Red Bull attempted to ready the Mexican's car in time for Sunday. After doing so, inspections found chassis infringements which relegated Pérez to a pit lane start. He also incurred an extra 10-second penalty. Some may ask whether Pérez is growing tired of playing second fiddle to Verstappen, and future betting odds may begin to reflect this.
Mercedes enjoyed a decent build-up to Sunday's Grand Prix, with George Russell qualifying on the front row and Lewis Hamilton in third. Both carried their form into the Sprint race, cementing their sports book support by ending in fourth and fifth positions.
In usual F1 racing terms, Sunday's Qatar Grand Prix was different, to say the least. There were three safety car interventions during the Sprint. These, and concerns over damage to the Pirelli tyres, saw FIA placing extra conditions on the main event.
Mandatory pit stops would be in place every 18 laps at least
Due to the high-speed nature of the Lusail circuit, the governing body enforced a pit stop rule for safety reasons. Mandatory pit stops would be in place every 18 laps at least.
The start of the race typified what had gone before it. From the start, Verstappen secured the lead from pole, but Hamilton was too eager to attack Russell for second. The two Mercedes made contact with Hamilton's car ending in the gravel. Meanwhile, Russell spun on the track and was overtaken by the rest of the field.
Immediate safety car deployment until the end of lap four ended with the World Champion in the lead and Piastri, Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin and Charles Leclerc's Ferrari following. By the time Piastri pitted on lap 12, Verstappen had built a three-second lead. As the race progressed, the Dutchman extended this due to some efficient pitting, despite the obvious speed of the McLarens.
Despite a slow final stop by Red Bull's standards, Verstappen had built up enough time to take the chequered flag. Piastri finished almost five seconds behind for the young pretender's second successive podium. On recent form, it may be worth keeping an eye on Piastri's odds for future races. Norris, about a second further back, claimed the final podium position.
George Russell fought back well to claim fourth, with Leclerc finishing fifth and Alonso sixth. Sergio Pérez's horrendous Qatar experience finished as it had started. He ended in 10th place, over 80 seconds behind his teammate. The time gap included three five-second additions for track limits offending. Pérez was only one of four multiple track limits offenders on the day, though.
Qatar's Heat
Max Verstappen's third F1 World Drivers' Championship should have been the main talking point after the race. Sadly, many other technical and organisational points overshadowed the achievement. These included whether scheduling the Luseil meeting during such a hot Qatar period was wise.
Williams rookie Logan Sargeant was the first casualty of this heat during the race. He retired with “intense dehydration” while his teammate Alex Albon needed treatment for "acute heat exposure" after the race. Alpine Renault's Esteban Ocon, who finished seventh, revealed afterwards he was vomiting in his helmet by lap 15.
“I’m very glad that we’re coming back later next year,” runner-up Piastri told reporters after the race, "...definitely the toughest race I’ve done and I think, obviously, we need some discussions about a lot of things from this weekend. It’s not a good situation to be in."
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