Verstappen wins in Qatar with Norris taking penalty

Max Verstappen won an incident-filled Qatar Grand Prix featuring three safety cars. Main challenger Lando Norris received a ten-second stop-and-go penalty for speeding under yellow flags.

The Red Bull driver led every lap of the race to score his ninth victory of the 2024 season, having overcome a threat from Norris, which was ultimately concluded when the McLaren driver was caught not slowing for yellow flags along the start-finish straight.

The issue was caused by Alex Albon’s escaped wing mirror, which was run over by Valtteri Bottas to produce a shower of debris along the straight – which was likely the cause for mid-race punctures for Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton.

Verstappen outdragged polesitter George Russell off the line at the start – the Mercedes had assumed pole when the new champion was given a one-place grid drop for apparently baulking the Mercedes in qualifying.

Norris put Verstappen under pressure into the first corner having also claimed a good start, but was unable to get by and left to sit in the Red Bull’s wheeltracks – although an early safety car for a clash between Nico Hulkenberg, Franco Colapinto, and Esteban Ocon gave Norris a chance at a restart overtake.

But this was well managed by Verstappen, who left Norris behind on the lap five restart and started to try and build a lead to clear DRS range. He managed this, but Lando’s laps ensured that he could at least remain within two seconds of his former title rival.

Although there was a series of fastest laps between the two, Norris never looked like putting Verstappen under a realistic threat – although suddenly found half a second on Verstappen at the start of lap 30.

But this was the major turning point. Verstappen had slowed for the debris-induced yellow flags and Norris had not, although this was not realised before a chaotic phase introduced by Sainz and Hamilton simultaneously picking up front-left punctures.

The safety car was thus called out to clear the mess, prompting Verstappen and Norris to finally stop for the hard tyres – on the restart, Norris stayed close to the back of the leading RB20 – the safety car lights were late in going off – and got a run into Turn 1. This challenge, however, was put to rest by Verstappen.

An immediate third safety car period followed due to Hulkenberg spilling his Haas into the gravel at Turn 9, although Norris was dropped on the later restart by Verstappen and instead left to defend from a chasing Charles Leclerc.

At this phrase of the race, Norris got the news of his 10-second stop-go penalty, halting his faint hopes of challenging Verstappen in the final stages of the race.

This left Verstappen free to take victory, and he crossed the finishing line 6.1 seconds clear of Leclerc to complete his second win in three races.

Leclerc had overcome a series of threats from Oscar Piastri, who had found keeping touch with the Ferrari driver difficult with DRS. Piastri had been ahead prior to the second safety car, but the unfortunate timing of his pitstop (a lap before the safety car emerged) moved him behind the Ferrari driver.

The two moved up into the podium placings when Norris was docked by his penalty, while Russell finished fourth despite taking a five-second penalty at the close of the race for a safety car infringement.

Pierre Gasly took an important fifth for Alpine and defended well from Carlos Sainz in the final stages of the race. The Alpine driver had slipped off the circuit on the second safety car restart and lost places to Russell and Sainz, but reclaimed the latter position moments before the Mercedes AMG GT safety car returned to lead the field.

Sainz thus shook off his puncture to finish sixth, while Fernando Alonso’s gamble under the safety car – in which he switched to the hard tyre, only to pounce when the field was directed through the pitlane to fit the medium tyre once more – helped him take seventh.

Zhou Guanyu took an excellent eighth to secure Sauber’s first points of 2024, clear of Kevin Magnussen – who tried multiple times when attempting to pass Alex Albon – in ninth. Norris completed the top ten to recover to the points, having moved past the soft-shod RBs and then denied Bottas a first point of the year.

So a dramatic Qatar Grand Prix with full of incidents. The world champion drove a perfect lights to flag win. Although questions will be asked on why the race director did not recover the mirror on the main straight which affected Norris, Hamilton and Sainz’s race.

Qatar Grand Prix, race results:
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:31:05.323
2 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +6.031s
3 Oscar Piastri McLaren +6.819s
4 George Russell Mercedes +14.104s
5 Pierre Gasly Alpine +16.782s
6 Carlos Sainz Ferrari +17.476s
7 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +19.867s
8 Zhou Guanyu Sauber +25.360s
9 Kevin Magnussen Haas +32.177s
10 Lando Norris McLaren +35.762s
11 Valtteri Bottas Sauber +50.243s
12 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +56.122s
13 Yuki Tsunoda RB +61.100s
14 Liam Lawson RB +62.656s
15 Alex Albon Williams +1 lap
Nico Hulkenberg Haas DNF
Serio Perez Red Bull DNF
Lance Stroll Aston Martin DNF
Franco Colapinto Williams DNF
Esteban Ocon Alpine DNF

4 thoughts to “Verstappen wins in Qatar with Norris taking penalty”

  1. Max Verstappen took a masterful victory in a hugely eventful Qatar Grand Prix, a race that featured three Safety Car appearances, numerous incidents and a penalty for Lando Norris that dropped the Briton down the order after earlier battling for the lead.

    Having lost pole position following a one-place penalty for an incident in qualifying, Verstappen looked to be in fighting mode from the off, the Dutchman winning a battle for the lead against George Russell and Norris into Turn 1.

    It was not necessarily a straightforward drive from there, however, 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 claim points.

    Charles Leclerc took second place, the Ferrari driver crossing the line six seconds back from Verstappen, while McLaren’s Oscar Piastri completed the podium in third. Russell was Mercedes’ sole points-scorer in fourth, ahead of Pierre Gasly who held off Carlos Sainz to take a solid fifth for Alpine.

    Sainz had to settle for sixth in the Ferrari – recovering well from an earlier puncture – with fellow Spaniard Fernando Alonso taking home points for Aston Martin in seventh. Zhou Guanyu, meanwhile, scored Kick Sauber’s long-awaited debut points of the season by claiming a popular eighth place, also earning him the Driver of the Day accolade.

    https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/verstappen-surges-to-victory-ahead-of-leclerc-and-piastri-in-action-packed.4HUw20VKaLxIVNs3h0DJXE

  2. Lando Norris says “I would do the same” as Max Verstappen if his rival had been speeding under double yellow flags, after he was penalised for the offence in Qatar.

    The McLaren driver accepted that “I fucked it up” after being given a 10s stop-go penalty during Formula 1’s Qatar Grand Prix, which dropped him from second to finishing an eventual 10th.

    Norris was tracking Verstappen’s Red Bull in a cat-and-mouse battle during the opening stint when yellow flags were waved on the pit straight for debris, a stray wing mirror from Alex Albon’s Williams.

    Verstappen radioed his team to check if Norris had slowed under the yellows, after he reduced the leader’s advantage to 1.2 seconds, and following discussion with the stewards Norris was swiftly placed under investigation.

    Speaking afterwards, the Briton accepted that the penalty was legitimate if he had failed to heed yellow flags and admitted he would have done the same in raising the point if the shoe had been on the other foot.

    “Good, good on him,” Norris responded when told that Verstappen had reported him. “That’s what everyone does. I would do the same.”

    Confirming he would not seek to appeal the penalty, which he said was “correct” despite its draconian nature, Norris said: “Disappointed of course.

    “I’ve let the team down, the team gave me a great car today, easily the quickest out there, and I fucked it up.

    “I don’t know what I did wrong. I’m not an idiot, if there’s a yellow flag I know I need to slow down. That’s rule number one, you learn in go-karts.

    “For some reason I didn’t do that today, because I’ve not seen it or I’ve missed it or something. So I have to take it on the chin.

    “They think I’ve done something wrong, I must have done something wrong. And I can only apologise for the rest of the year to the team.”

    https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/norris-would-do-the-same-as-verstappen-in-reporting-yellow-flag-infringement/10678419/

  3. Max Verstappen was delighted with his and Red Bull’s efforts after he drove a masterful race around the Lusail International Circuit to win his first Grand Prix in dry conditions since June, avoiding the mayhem that unfolded around him to come out on top.

    After securing his fourth world title last time out in Las Vegas, the Dutchman started the weekend with an apparent drop in performance as he struggled in the Qatar Sprint, settling for a single point by crossing the line in P8.

    However, Red Bull were able to make tweaks to his RB20 ahead of qualifying which made a phenomenal difference – Verstappen narrowly claimed pole position ahead of George Russell, with an advantage of just 0.055s.

    His weekend took yet another turn when he was handed a one-place grid penalty for driving unnecessarily slowly, leaving him to start the race from P2 while the Mercedes was promoted.

    That was not enough to deter Verstappen, who quickly took back the race lead off the line and defended it until the chequered flag, albeit with a few close moments with the McLaren of Lando Norris.

    “It was a very good race,” the 27-year-old said. “Of course already yesterday in qualifying the car was a lot better. Today, that first stint was very, very fast.

    “Lando and I were just within 1.8s of each other the whole time, pushing each other and honestly it was a lot of fun out there. This track has a lot of grip and this year the tyres were really holding on so that was honestly a lot of fun to be really pushing the tyre. We went really long on that first stint.

    “After that of course there were a few Safety Car moments that you had to take care, but very happy. It’s been a while in the dry to be this competitive and very proud of everyone within the team to turn it around within a day. They definitely also deserve this victory.”

    https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/verstappen-delighted-with-qatar-gp-victory-as-he-praises-team-after.NsoBAsZU1pXe1YlynwBuN

  4. Max Verstappen has taken aim at George Russell, stating that he has “lost all respect” for the Mercedes driver following their Qatar Grand Prix qualifying contretemps on Saturday.

    The Red Bull driver took particular umbrage with Russell following their summons to the stewards’ room after qualifying, when the championship winner was investigated for allegedly driving unnecessarily slowly prior to their final laps.

    Russell took evasive action when encountering a slow Verstappen at Turn 12, while the Red Bull driver was trying to build a gap to the cars ahead through the triple right-hander before his ultimately denied pole lap.

    Verstappen explained that he could scarcely believe that he was being penalised for the incident, and felt like he was taking extra care not to interrupt other drivers’ preparations.

    He reckoned that the stewards were not receptive to his explanation, and accused Russell of ‘trying to screw him over’ with his own account.

    “I couldn’t believe that I got it. But in a way I was also not surprised anymore in the world that I live in. I’m not happy with it, but at one point or another you have to just turn the page,” Verstappen recalled.

    “It wasn’t very enjoyable to see that happen because I think that’s the first time that in a slow lap someone has been penalised.

    “Actually, I just tried to be nice, so maybe I shouldn’t be nice. I didn’t want to screw anyone over to prepare their lap. And by doing that, being nice, basically you get a penalty.

    “And that’s what I tried to explain as well, but I just felt like I was talking to a brick wall, so there’s not much that was possible for whatever reason.

    “It was clear-cut that around me there were different scenarios going on as well, with people having colder tires and stuff, so they have to push anyway. I didn’t want to then cause a scene into the last corner and for nobody to have a lap.

    “I was quite surprised, when sitting there in the stewards’ room, what was all going on. It was honestly very disappointing, because I think all of us here, we respect each other a lot.

    “I’ve been in that meeting room many times in my life and my career with people that I’ve raced. And I’ve never seen someone trying to screw someone over that hard. For me, I lost all respect.”

    https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/verstappen-lost-all-respect-for-russell-after-qatar-gp-stewards-room-conduct/10678443/

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