Motorsport

FOR once he didn’t win, but Max Verstappen’s second-place finish in the Qatar GP sprint race was enough to clinch him the F1 title.In what has felt like the longest procession in F1 history, finally the Red Bull ace has his third world crown – and there are still SIX races to go.
Perez crashing out means Verstappen has won the Drivers Championship without having to raceCredit: AP
Verstappen was able to celebrate earlyCredit: EPA
After winning the Championship on a SaturdayCredit: Getty
F1 have introduced these 30-minute sprint races to liven up the action, strategically placing three of them towards the end of the year in the hope of prolonging a title fight.
But there was not a chance of taking this championship to the wire – especially with Sergio Perez’s intent on making life difficult for himself.
The Mexican is under mounting pressure to justify his place in the team after a number of poor performances.
He’s been openly criticised by Red Bull’s motorsport advisor Helmut Marko on repeated occasions.
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And he did himself no favours here after a poor qualifying and getting taken out of the sprint race by Esteban Ocon.
With Perez eliminated, Verstappen was crowned world champion before the race had even ended.
Verstappen started third and made a conservative start as he plotted his way through the early laps.
He mounted a late charge, passing George Russell to move into second place but ultimately yielded to Oscar Piastri, who won for McLaren.
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Verstapppen was crowned in QatarCredit: Getty
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It was a measured performance from Verstappen, who has enjoyed a season of domination at an unprecedented level.
He’d re-written the record books by winning 10 races in a row – ironically beating former Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel who set it in 2013 when all the other teams had stopped developing their cars.
Verstappen, still only 26, has been unstoppable with 13 wins in 16 races – no wonder then, even before this Saturday sprint race, he was relaxed about the prospect of being crowned three-time world champion.
Clearly not one for superstition, he spoke about still having plans to celebrate his title win, despite still having Sunday’s Qatar GP to come.
This championship has looked inevitable as soon as Perez’s limp chance of challenging him wilted as easy as the Miami GP only the fifth race of the season.
As he crossed the line he was congratulated by team boss Christian Horner, who said: “Max you are a three-time world champion. That’s unbelievable. Incredible year for you.”
Verstappen replied: “Yeah unbelievable guys. I don’t know what to say. Thank you for providing me with such a car. It’s been a lot of fun this year.
“I just want to say a big thank you to everyone here at the track and back at the factory, putting all the effort in.
It’s Verstappen’s third title on the spinCredit: Reuters
“To be able to achieve something like this, I can’t thank you all enough. Besides all the performance related stuff, it’s just really enjoyable to work with you all. That’s the most important thing at the end.”
Piastri produced an excellent drive for his first win in F1 while his McLaren teammate Lando Norris was third. Russell was fourth and Lewis Hamilton was fifth.
Meanwhile, F1 chiefs will discover today (SUN) if they can run the Qatar Grand Prix as intended or force teams to make extra pitstops on safety grounds.
The sport’s governing body, the FIA, are worried about some of the new kerbs at the Lusail International Circuit causing damage to their tyres.
The problem was highlighted by tyre suppliers Pirelli at 10:30pm on Friday night, who investigated the sets of tyres used by the drivers in the solitary practice session and qualifying on Friday night.
However, despite informing the FIA, teams were not told about the risks until 14 HOURS later, sparking outrage among the drivers, who requested an urgent meeting.
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They were reassured by F1 but pending further investigations, the FIA could stipulate THREE pitstops to prevent blowouts.
Somewhat incredibly, the international sporting event has not had a single pilot event with an F1 car while there are zero additional races on the schedule – unlike other races on the F1 calendar. More

FORMULA ONE chiefs are sweating over whether Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix will go ahead as planned due to safety concerns.Saturday’s practice has been extended as the sport’s governing body, the FIA, are worried about some of the kerbs at the Lusail International Circuit, which has undergone some major redevelopment work.
Sunday’s race in Qatar is a doubt over safety concernsCredit: AFP
Drivers and team bosses alike have been left outragedCredit: Getty
The problem was highlighted by tyre suppliers Pirelli at 10:30pm on Friday night, who investigated the sets of tyres used by the drivers in the solitary practice session and qualifying on Friday night.
However, despite informing the FIA, teams were not told about the risks until 14 HOURS later, sparking outrage among the drivers, who requested an urgent meeting.
They have been reassured by F1 that the tyres were at least safe for the 30-minute sprint race but the FIA have registered extra running time to investigate further.
It could result in the FIA stipulating that during Sunday’s race, drivers are forced to stop THREE times for new tyres to limit the chances of a blow out due to cuts in the tyre wall.
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It comes after a substantial development of the track to signal the start of the 10-year deal Qatar has signed with F1.
However, somewhat incredibly, the international sporting event has not had a single pilot event with an F1 car.

The first time an F1 car went around the circuit since the resurfacing was on Friday, sparking a debate as to how safe the circuit is.
While this is not the first time this track has held an F1 race – it hosted the 2021 Qatar GP – questions are being asked of the FIA and F1.
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Not only have there been no test events, there are zero additional races on the schedule – unlike other races on the F1 calendar.
Consequently, the track is dirty and covered in dust, making it more unpredictable for drivers.
It is all messy at a race where Max Verstappen can be crowned world champion. More

OSCAR PIASTRI was involved in an awkward interview after learning his qualifying time had been deleted on live TV.The McLaren ace had put in a strong lap to initially score an impressive P4, one ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
Oscar Piastri thought he had scored a P3 in QatarCredit: Getty
But the McLaren driver was then told his lap time had been deleted
Piastri did media duties with George Russell, left, and Max VerstappenCredit: Getty
But Piastri was then bumped up to P3 after team-mate Lando Norris – who had put himself in P2 – saw his lap time deleted for exceeding track limits.
A jubilant Piastri had taken up the microphone for the interviews the top three drivers do after qualifying and a race, seemingly confirming his place in the order.
However, the Aussie soon found himself falling foul to the same treatment as his team-mate.
While in the middle of his interview, Piastri was told his lap time had been deleted, cruelly swiping a top three away.
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Piastri, 22, was then told he would now be starting P6, putting his thumbs up before sarcastically remarking “wonderful,” and heading off screen.
Fans could not help but feel sorry for the rookie, who scored his first-ever F1 podium at the most recent race in Japan.
One said: “That was so brutal omg.”
A second commented: “The dejected thumbs up too 😫😭.”
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A third wrote: “Poor guy! Took it like a champ, can’t hate him I am afraid.”
Another typed: “He said ‘I’ll try again next time’. He’s so cool.”
While a fifth added: “I would actually start sobbing.”
Despite the disappointment, Piastri provided a brilliant response on his Twitter page, sharing a pic of himself alongside pole sitter Max Verstappen and P2 George Russell with the caption: “P1, 2 & 6 🤷‍♂️.”
Piastri also told Sky Sports F1: “Obviously it’s a shame.
“The car felt reasonable, I just pushed the limit of the car in the last lap. It’s a shame because the car was quick.
“We get another crack at it tomorrow with qualifying and then the Sprint too. We’ll see what we can do.
“I think it’s very tight and it’s so easy to make mistakes. The track’s very slippery so that’s not making things easy for us.
“We’ll try again, obviously it’s a shame that we’re a bit further back down for the main race where the most points are but there’s definitely points up for grabs tomorrow.”
Verstappen can make history by winning the F1 driver’s title BEFORE the full race on Sunday.
Russell joins him on the front row, with Hamilton in third.
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While Piastri’s interview was more of the heartwrenching persuasion, Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll gave an X-rated seven-word post-qualifying interview after finishing P17.
The Canadian was also pictured appearing to shove his coach in the garage.
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