Sunday was chaotic in Qatar, starting from the Porsche Carrera series that led to the cancellation of the final race of F1 Academy, which then carried on to the chaos between the drivers and penalties flying around in the Formula One race. Here’s everything that went down at the Qatar Grand Prix.
With the controversial penalty awarded to this year’s champion Max Verstappen during the qualifying, he quickly regained his position in the early stages of the race. Shortly after, the first safety car of the night was deployed following a collision involving Esteban Ocon, Franco Colapinto, and Nico Hülkenberg. Only Colapinto and Ocon were forced to retire at that point.
Oscar Piastri, who was battling George Russell, capitalized on rear wing issues within the Mercedes paddock and secured his third-place position until the end of the race.
Lewis Hamilton received two penalties: one for a false race start and another for speeding in the pit lane. Despite the team advising him to retire, Hamilton continued and finished 12th. He also suffered a puncture, as did Carlos Sainz, due to debris from Alex Albon’s shattered rearview mirror, which was broken by Valtteri Bottas’ car. Surprisingly, the debris wasn’t immediately cleared and sat on track for almost 10 laps.
As for other major blunders, during a yellow flag, Lando Norris failed to slow down and received a 10-second penalty. This penalty disrupted his fantastic battle with Verstappen and put his chances of scoring points at risk. However, he managed to finish in the top 10 and earned the extra point for the fastest lap. This turn of events significantly benefited Charles Leclerc, who finished second.
As the race was set to restart, Sergio Pérez encountered technical issues, spun out, and caused the third race pause of the night.
Carlos Sainz made an attempt to overtake Pierre Gasly, which would have favored Ferrari, but Gasly successfully defended his fifth-place position until the end.
In a quieter performance, the Visa RB drivers secured a 13th and 14th finish, marking significant improvement after Liam Lawson’s sprint incident.
By the end of the race, there were a total of five DNFs, with Lance Stroll, Nico Hülkenberg, and Sergio Pérez joining the initial two retirements. Amid the chaos, Sauber celebrated its first points of the season, as Zhou Guanyu finished eighth and was named Driver of the Day.
The Constructors’ Championship remains undecided and will be determined in Abu Dhabi, as Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz maintain their form alongside the McLaren drivers.
Written by Isha.
Featured Image Credit: autopt.pt
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