Race Highlights | 2025 Qatar Grand Prix

Three contenders for the title and an epic run to turn number one. If Lando wins tonight, he's champion of the world. Here come the lights in Qatar. We're underway and racing to turn number one. Even reaction time. Verstappen is on Norris immediately. Oscar Piastri has the lead. Verstappen is up to second place and he's got it.

He's got what he needed. He must finish ahead of Lando Norris to stay in the championship battle and he's ahead by turn number one! Norris is down to third, Verstappen is up to second and sprinting clear is Oskar Piastri. Antonelli is up a place to fourth, Sainz finds himself in second. The two contenders are side by side, at least Lando Norris hoped he would be. Verstappen gets what he needs and he's up to P2. Yeah, all the reaction time from all drivers looked pretty much the same,

but it was that second phase of the start that Max Verstappen was able to pull into the slipstream of Oscar ahead.

A poor start for George Russell. He lost three positions to drop down to seventh. Everyone on that side of the grid lost out at the front of the field. Hajar's lost a couple of places as well from sixth on the grid. Russell's down three, Norris is down the critical one though. And it was the second phase there on the clean side of the grid. Max then had the slipstream and got a crucial move. Hamilton and Lawson trying to go side by side. Hamilton having to open the steering wheel. The driver battling for 13th position. He's up three places at the start of the penultimate Grand Prix of the year. Piastri, Norris and Verstappen. You can see Verstappen in the opening, 100 metres alongside.

Hadja got away terribly. He's already dropping down the field. Verstappen, you're right, he just did it in that drive phase. So the reaction was the same, but Max could apply the throttle way more cleanly, get rid of the clutch and start just booting the right foot. And that was a move to the inside. Well, they say it's hard to overtake around here, but there's one for Hülkenberg into turn number one. And this is Pierre Gasly and that is how he damaged the underside of the car. Yes, it's his own mistake there, Gasly, that has caused the damage. He's still circulating okay in ninth, but he has damaged that underside. They've got to think about tyre saving at this stage on the medium tyre.

When we get close to the...

Off the road we go and it's Hülkenberg! The soft tyre! He was running and you can see there's no rear right tyre on that Sauber. He's gone off at the first turn and the tyre marks tell a story. He's spun off the road. Pierre Gasly has a puncture as well. And they were battling, battling over ninth place. They've come together and the safety car is out in Qatar.

This is the reason that we have the safety car. The Alpine and the Selva making contact. It looks like it's going to be a good move for Hülkenberg. Gasly maybe just washing wide on the exit there. Let's have a look on board with Pierre. Nico coming around, loads of understeer.

It's just a familiar racing incident there.

So Verstappen having to roll the dice, trying to stay in contention for the World Championship, comes in. He does the opposite of both McLarens who remain on the racetrack. A whole bunch of cars coming in. In fact, most of the field it looks like. So you're just on the window of being able to pit once more. The timing of it is neat, but they've got to run two different compounds at a time. That's why they're double stacking at Mercedes.

We should have just followed him in there, if you knew the car ahead was staying out.

They have lost all their flexibility for the remainder of the race.

McLaren have got to build an enormous gap to undo the damage here. We're racing again in the penultimate Grand Prix of the year. McLaren with so much work to do as Piastri takes us back to full speed. He is six tenths of a second ahead of Lando Norris. How quickly can the top two go?

Piastri, Norris, Verstappen, they are head and shoulders above the rest of the pack in terms of lap time right now. It's almost like they've got a World Championship at stake.

Having Sainz in fourth and not a George Russell or even a Kimi Antonelli may well be saving the two McLarens here because that gap is widening at still nearly a second a lap. And Oscar Piastri looking for a rapid pit stop. He comes in from the lead of the Grand Prix. Norris does one more and uses full allocation on this set of tyres. No double stack, clean enough

pit stop. As Norris gets a new set of tyres. Championship leader back in the race. And that is exactly what they needed. 2.2 seconds.

Yeah, slick work.

If he wants to get anywhere near max now at the end of the race, he has to try and clear these two cars. They're only gonna go for two more laps, but it's every second will count for Piastri. He gets the DRS. There's a slight headwind as mentioned, the slipstream's working. Well, Piastri trying to win his World Championship straight through. No messing around, goodnight, goodbye, up to third for Oscar Piastri. Still a contender to win the race, still a contender to win the World Championship, and he's got to go all in.

Max Verstappen in for another stop. Timing of the safety car crucial. Red Bull reacted. Will it give them victory thanks to the driving of Max Verstappen? It's the hards going on so they've decided to go conservative. Oliver Behrmann. Rear axle only one wheel on the wagon. He's gone early. You see the car was rocking.

Clear indication that he's gonna have one rear wheel on the car.

10-second stop-go penalty is very, very extreme for race control. They weren't happy with what they witnessed. Is this the moment that has caused trouble for Lando Norris? It cost him a second on the road. Listen in. Oh, and it was nearly another dramatic turn of the McLaren and in the championship battle. And this is how hard he is pushing around the racetrack.

Oh my word! The second McLaren to dance over that curb. Millimeters between spinning and losing the chance to win the World Championship. Fernando Alonso goes round and carries on in the Grand Prix. Alonso finds himself P8. Hard tyres! Hard tyres! They've put the race leader on hard tyres! They don't trust the fastest compound. In comes Lando Norris to make his stop and this needs to be perfect for McLaren.

There goes Sainz, there goes Antonelli, here comes 5th place and he's got to just get back to a podium. Puncher for Isaac Hadjar, the driver who started this lap in 6th position has a puncher on the penultimate lap of the Grand Prix.

There's only one more chance though for anyone to overtake. Norris finds his way by. Crucial moment in the Formula 1 World Championship. Lando Norris is up to fourth position and the lead will be 12 points in the World Championship.

Not sure what happened to Antonelli, Max.

Looks like he just pulled over and let Norris through. Still a contender for the Formula One World Championship. Max Verstappen will not be moved. He heads to Abu Dhabi with a fighting chance still to win it all. Grand Prix win number 17 in his career. Piastri comes home in second.

Sainz will complete the podium if he gets a clean final turn of the racetrack. We come across the line and the gap between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris is 12 points, heading into the final Grand Prix of the season. Cancel your plans, we will see you next Sunday. It is Norris versus Verstappen versus Piastri for the championship of the world. Cancel your plans, we will see you next Sunday. It is Norris versus Verstappen versus Piastri for the championship of the world. And Max Verstappen somehow is still part of that conversation.