Formula One's 2025 World Drivers' Championship fight will go down to the wire in Abu Dhabi this weekend after a second successive McLaren race-day mistake. The Qatar GP saw the team make the wrong call under Safety Car conditions, costing both drivers valuable points in their championship fight. Max Verstappen is within touching distance of an unthinkable turnaround after McLaren's Las Vegas GP disqualification and the papaya team handing him victory in Qatar.

It was always going to be a unique race in the Lusail desert after Pirelli mandated a 25-lap limit for every set of tyres. After issues at previous Qatar grands prix, the Italian tyre manufacturer chose caution and safety, necessitating each driver to pit at least twice in the 57-lap race. Medium compound rubber filled much of the starting grid, with an all-McLaren front row lockout starting with Oscar Piastri on pole ahead of teammate Lando Norris.

Cars on the right side of the grid seemed to struggle at the getaway, and Norris in P2 was part of that. Piastri led through the first corner, and Verstappen used the slipstream behind the Australian to slot in behind and advance past Norris to P2. It was a disastrous start for George Russell, too. The Mercedes was also slow leaving the grid slot, and a wobble in Turn 2 had him down three positions, dropping behind Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso.

The race had eased into the usual Qatar train of cars with limited overtaking opportunities. Nico Hulkenberg was the exception, though, overtaking Charles Leclerc at Turn 1 and then lining up Pierre Gasly for a repeat of the move. Unfortunately for the Sauber driver, the Alpine's understeer had him hitting Hulkenberg's right-rear wheel. A puncture for both had Hulkenberg out of the race, triggering a Safety Car and Gasly limping back to the pits.

Serendipitous timing had the Safety Car's appearance coming at a point where the mandatory two-stop strategy imposed by the 25-lap limit would allow for a 'cheap' pit stop. Everyone dived into the pit lane except for the McLarens. Questioning radio messages came over the airwaves, with the McLaren pit wall suggesting they'd be more flexible in strategies. All their hopes had to be on their drivers having incredible pace in clear air, though.

A busy pit lane had 17 cars all looking to change their tyres. The double-stacking and waiting for rivals saw positions juggling. Sainz was the main beneficiary, gaining P4 ahead of Antonelli and opening up a run at the podium. Russell, however, dropped back, with Isack Hadjar also getting by after the Briton had to wait behind his rookie teammate.

Piastri led the pack after the restart and extended the gap to Norris. The McLarens had the pace, but they would have to be over 20 seconds faster than Verstappen to beat the Red Bull. That was nowhere near the case when they stopped, and both could feel lucky to reappear on the track ahead of Alonso. It was Mediums for both McLarens, meaning they'd need to switch to Hards or Softs for their final stop.

A fired-up Piastri got to work chasing down the deficit, with it becoming clear that McLaren's strategists had made a mistake. A decisive overtake on Antonelli had the Australian closing the gap. Piastri swept by the Mercedes and was right on the tail of Sainz before the second round of pit stops, but Norris could not do the same and fell a little further back.

Pit stop drama was inevitable with so many teams stopping simultaneously, and Russell had to think on his feet to avoid a collision when exiting into the path of a rival. Ollie Bearman lost out the most, though, after an issue with his left-rear wheel left him stuck in the pits. Things went from bad to worse when the stewards slapped on a 10-second stop-go penalty for his car leaving the pit lane in an unsafe condition.

Of course, there was still another team needing to pit, with the McLarens circulating at the front and weighing up their best strategic options. Piastri requested a switch to Pirelli's fastest Soft compound tyre to close the gap, but the team put him onto Hards for the final stint. The Australian returned to the track in P2 and began chasing down Verstappen, but it was a different story for Norris. Those seconds lost earlier continued to hurt him, with more time stuck behind Antonelli's rear wing in P5.

Norris piled the pressure on the Italian teenager, however, and it eventually paid off. A mistake from Antonelli allowed Norris through to P4 and regained two potentially championship-altering points. Another lap might've earned him P3, too, with the speed he closed in on Sainz, but his old teammate held on for a surprise podium for Williams. He joined a jubilant Verstappen and crestfallen Piastri on the rostrum for the celebrations.

Questions will continue to be asked of McLaren's race operations heading to this weekend's season finale. Verstappen is now just 12 points adrift of Norris, and an identical result to this Qatar GP would see the Dutchman champion by one point. Piastri is still in the fight, but he will need a lot of luck to recover his title hopes. It's a 14-point swing to Verstappen after McLaren's questionable strategy for the Australian, who'll have nothing to lose in Abu Dhabi. Norris remains on top, but will he still be there after F1's final 58 laps of 2025?

Formula One will head to the final two rounds with a three-driver fight for the 2025 title after post-race drama turned the championship upside down in Las Vegas. Both McLaren drivers, the two leaders in the standings, were disqualified from the results, gifting race winner Max Verstappen a 25-point swing towards the top. The decision will be devastating for Lando Norris, who could feasibly have become a champion next weekend in Qatar, but will now need to hope Red Bull's late-season surge doesn't carry Verstappen to a fifth crown.

Norris started the race from pole position, securing a P1 grid slot after a rainy Qualifying session in Nevada on Friday. However, his lead lasted just one corner. Norris swung across the track on the run to Turn 1 to chop off the P2-starting Verstappen, but braked too late and ran deep. Verstappen took to the inside of the left-hander to take a lead he would never give up en route to his 69th career victory.

Further frustration hit Norris on the run to Turn 5. Mercedes' George Russell had sped past the high-placed Carlos Sainz in the Williams to clinch P3 and went on the attack, too. A side-by-side run down the straight had Norris dropping back behind Russell to leave him in P3. The consolation for the Briton was that his teammate and championship challenger Piastri had an equally difficult opening tour.

Turn 1 saw collisions throughout the field. Liam Lawson had barged into Piastri at the opening corner as he struggled to slow his VCARB. Fortunately, it was wheel-to-wheel contact, leaving Piastri still in the race rather than retiring. The Australian might feel aggrieved that the move didn't result in a penalty for Lawson, despite it being quite similar to his contact with Kimi Antonelli a fortnight ago. Piastri received 10 seconds for that move in Brazil, hurting his title aspirations, with the unclear overtaking guidelines again proving inconsistent.

Another Turn 1 crash was much clearer, though. Gabriel Bortoleto's misjudged overtaking efforts ended both his and Lance Stroll's races. The Brazilian took to the inside and had far too much speed to make the corner. He smashed into the Aston Martin, which in turn hit Pierre Gasly. Bortoleto and Stroll soon retired, with Gasly continuing on.

The resulting Virtual Safety Car opened up an unconventional strategic option. Antonelli dived into the pits to switch from the Pirelli Softs to the white-walled Hard compound tyre. A creep forward ahead of the lights meant he had a five-second penalty himself. However, the extremely early pit stop allowed the Mercedes teenager to run in clear air after his disappointing P17 qualification. With tyre degradation being low, this allowed Antonelli to creep up the order as others stopped later on.

While the Verstappen-Russell-Norris leaders continued unchanged, the midfield saw plenty of action thanks to the topsy-turvy grid from a wet Qualifying. The out-of-place Ferraris enjoyed plenty of coverage, with Lewis Hamilton recovering from a disastrous back-row start, and Charles Leclerc surging through the pack from P9. Hamilton had gained six positions by navigating the Turn 1 carnage, while Leclerc made moves on Ollie Bearman, Piastri, and Isack Hadjar in quick succession.

Hamilton, however, made a mistake under braking that allowed Alex Albon to close in on his tail. The Thai driver had struggled with no radio from lights out, and that soon proved problematic. Closing in speeds on Hamilton had him clip his front wing's endplate on the Ferrari's rear Pirelli, and he needed to pit. Williams didn't know there was any damage, though, and his tyre change necessitated a second trip to the pits to replace the front wing, demoting him to last place.

Although Hamilton continued undamaged, a second Virtual Safety Car followed to clear the debris on track. This slowdown helped Piastri close up on Hadjar and pass the Frenchman to reach P6 before he pitted. McLaren's early stop was in place to try and undercut Leclerc and the high-running Sainz. A race against the Spaniard at the pit exit got Piastri past the Williams, and he also bested Leclerc when the Ferrari stopped three laps later.

Changing tyres also helped the fortunes of the other McLaren further up the order. Norris' Hard Pirellis had him closing in on Russell for P2 and on the tail of his compatriot on Lap 34. A DRS pass soon had him into second place, but he didn't have the pace to contend for the lead. Verstappen's engineer told his driver that Norris was pushing, and the four-time champion upped his pace to stay out of striking range.

Piastri, by contrast, couldn't repeat that overtake on the sister Mercedes after Antonelli rose to P4 following his Lap 2 pit stop. Nursing the Pirelli rubber had the Italian ahead of Piastri and Leclerc, who couldn't pass by in a double-pronged attack. Smart driving from Antonelli belied his inexperience, and he negated the time penalty he carried by eking out the tyre life to open up a 5.2-second gap over Leclerc by the chequered flag, to only drop behind Piastri and lose one position.

That demotion, of course, was only temporary once the scrutineers had their say. Both Norris, who was instructed to lift and coast in his final laps, and Piastri's cars had too much plank wear. The sub-millimetre discrepancy could have huge consequences for the title race. Piastri is now on equal points with Verstappen, and the pair are 24 points away from Norris with 58 points remaining this season. F1 returns this weekend for the 2025 Qatar GP.