Max Verstappen took a masterful victory in a hugely eventful Qatar Grand Prix, a race which featured three Safety car appearances, numerous incidents and a few penalties…
Having lost pole position following a one-place grid penalty for an incident in qualifying, Verstappen looked to be in fighting mode from the start, the Dutchman won the battle for the lead against Russell and Norris into Turn 1.
It was not a straightforward drive from there, with the Safety Car appearing on the first lap after Franco Colapinto and Esteban Ocon were both casualties in an incident with Nico Hulkenberg.
This proved to be the first of three Safety Car outings during the 57 lap encounter – and while the second restart saw Norris run close to Verstappen in a fight for the lead, the world champion ultimately held on and remained in the position through to the chequered flag.
Norris meanwhile, saw what looked to be a certain podium result slip away after being handed a 10 second stop/go penalty for failing to slow under yellow flags, dropping him down the field and leaving him with a battle on his hands to grab some points.
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Piastri, P4: Russell, P5: Gasly, P6: Sainz, P7: Alonso, P8: Zhou, P9: Magnussen and P10: Norris.
What a lovely result for Max! Especially after his penalty which saw him loose pole position which he did seem like it was unfair, but he soon stopped people talking with a great drive to the flag.
However for his teammate, Sergio Perez, found himself out of the running after suffering a spin he done all on his own…
A really good result for Leclerc, P2! This will help with his battle for second in the Drivers’ championship and 2nd in the Constructors’. Carlos done quite well as well, considering he was one of the drivers who had a puncture due to debris on track. The Constructors’ will be decided next race as Ferrari can still catch up.
A decent race for Piastri! P3 is good, exactly what the team would’ve wanted from him at the weekend.
A bit of a downer for Norris, who looked like he was going to bring a really good battle for the win if not the podium at least until he had the stop/go penalty for failing to slow under yellow flags. But he managed to claw it somewhat back for a point.
A decent result for Russell, he didn’t have the best start as he lost a few positions and then after that he was put on the Hard tyre and it just wasn’t the best tyre for the Mercedes (which we have seen before) however he managed to pull it back to P4.
Not the best race for Hamilton, a puncture, a penalty and then just a bad strategy with tyres. He will be ready to move on to the last race of the season which is his last race as a Mercedes driver.
A very good result for Gasly!! P5 wow, this has helped Alpine hop back up the Constructors’ which will make this last race weekend a good one!
Ocon was in the collision in the first lap, which saw him DNF, which is a shame as it seemed like the track actually suited the Alpine car, so he could’ve been on for some points.
A little mention for Zhou Guanyu for scoring his first points of the season and Kick Saubers! Which they waited for quite a while to get this season.
Also a little mention for Alonso back in the points for the Spanish driver, and also points for Magnussen who finished P9!
Now, we head to the last race of the season which is of course Abu Dhabi where the Constructors will be decided and P2 in the Drivers’ Championship!
Jordan's Track Talk 
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