LUSAIL, Qatar — Red Bull’s Max Verstappen followed up his Formula 1 drivers’ title with another win Sunday in an incident-packed Qatar Grand Prix as Lando Norris was hit with a penalty that ended his challenge for the race victory.
Verstappen, who’d been dropped from pole to second place after an incident with George Russell in qualifying, got his revenge on the Mercedes driver off the line in the race.
Verstappen got alongside Russell to take the inside line into the first corner, then fended off a challenge from Norris into the next turn.
The race was packed with incidents as the safety car came out three times and Norris was dropped to the back of the field with a penalty for failing to slow under yellow warning flags. Charles Leclerc was second for Ferrari and Norris’ McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri was third.
Verstappen, who won his fourth consecutive title in Las Vegas last week, has won two of the last three races after not having had a victory since June before that.
At one stage, it looked like McLaren could seal its first constructors’ title since 1998 in Qatar as Norris and Piastri both eyed podium places.
After Norris’ penalty, Ferrari cut McLaren’s lead from 30 points to 21 with Leclerc’s second place and a solid sixth for Carlos Sainz Jr. after a puncture seemed to have wrecked his race. The constructors’ title will now be decided at the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi next week.
Russell was fourth, ahead of Pierre Gasly continuing Alpine’s recent good form, with Sainz sixth and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso seventh.
Zhou Guanyu picked up his and Sauber’s first points in eighth, ahead of Kevin Magnussen for Haas in ninth and Norris 10th after having been dropped to 15th by the penalty.
Lewis Hamilton and Sainz both picked up punctures shortly after a discarded wing mirror on the track was shattered by Valtteri Bottas’ Sauber. Carbon fiber and glass were spread across the circuit, bringing out the safety car again.
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