Verstappen wins Formula 1 race in Qatar as championship fight heads to the final race

Max Verstappen won the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday after a costly strategy error by McLaren hurt both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, setting up a three-way championship decider next weekend in the last Formula 1 race of the 2025 season

Max Verstappen won the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday after a costly strategy error by McLaren hurt both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, setting up a three-way championship decider next weekend in the last Formula 1 race of the 2025 season.

Oscar Piastri finished second and fellow McLaren driver Lando Norris finished fourth after getting stuck behind a few cars following his final pit stop.

Norris continues to lead the standings with 408 points, but the gap has narrowed after Sunday. Verstappen is behind him with 396 points and Piastri slightly further behind with 392 points.

Lando Norris of Great Britain and McLaren looks on in the pit lane during the F1 Grand Prix of Qatar.Kym Illman / Getty ImagesWith a maximum of 25 points available in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix next weekend, all three of them stand a chance of winning. For Norris and Piastri, it would be their first championship. For Verstappen, it would be his fifth consecutive championship, a feat achieved in F1 onlyby Michael Schumacher.

“Really well done with the strategy, guys,” Verstappen said over team radio after taking the checkered flag. “We keep staying in it! That’s a very lovely race.”