P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Reigning F1 champion Max Verstappen kept his 2025 title defence alive into the season finale by winning a Qatar GP transformed by the maximum stint rule and a McLaren blunder
Reigning Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen won the Qatar Grand Prix, keeping his 2025 title defense alive into the season finale thanks to the maximum stint rule implemented by Pirelli. The race saw a strategic twist with a 25-lap stint maximum, leading most drivers to pit under the safety car and split the remainder of the race strategically. Verstappen’s victory puts him 12 points behind championship leader Lando Norris, with Norris’s teammate Oscar Piastri trailing Verstappen by four points. Despite a strong performance, Norris finished in fifth place after a crucial pit stop, allowing Carlos Sainz and Kimi Antonelli to claim podium finishes. Isack Hadjar’s late-race puncture promoted George Russell to sixth and Fernando Alonso to seventh.
