F1 Qatar GP LIVE: Race reaction as Verstappen vents fury at Russell after penalty drama
F1 race reaction as Verstappen wins in Qatar and Lando Norris drops down the field after a late penalty
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Your support makes all the difference.Max Verstappen followed up securing his fourth world championship by winning a chaotic Qatar Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton suffered another miserable evening in his penultimate Mercedes appearance.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton was penalised twice by the stewards and said his car was “broken” as he finished down in 12th spot in a race which saw Verstappen claim a dominant win.
Lando Norris had been on course to finish runner-up, but he was dealt a severe 10-second stop-and-go penalty for failing to slow under waved yellows, dropping him to 10th.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took advantage of Norris’ demise to take second place, six seconds behind Verstappen, and one spot ahead of McLaren driver Oscar Piastri. Russell finished fourth.
F1 Qatar GP LIVE: Safety car! (Lap 36/57)
Finally we have a safety car!
Cue mayhem in the pits.
Hamilton: “Trust me to have this luck!”
F1 Qatar GP LIVE: Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have punctures! (Lap 35/57)
Ludicrous stuff!
Hamilton and Sainz have punctures, presumably, from the debris on the main straight!
Why on earth was the mirror not cleared?
A lot of the frontrunners pitting now!
F1 Qatar GP LIVE: Verstappen’s lead to Norris is 2.3 seconds (Lap 33/57)
This is a tad bizarre.
The wing mirror is still on the straight and Valtteri Bottas has just run over it!
He’s smashed it into pieces!
F1 Qatar GP LIVE: Russell stuck behind Alonso (Lap 30/57)
Russell, now in 10th, can’t squeeze past Alonso in ninth.
Meanwhile, there’s a wing-mirror on the main straight - it looks like it flew off Alex Albon’s Williams quite randomly!
VSC incoming?
Verstappen’s lead to Norris is 1.6 seconds at this point.
Top-10: Verstappen, Norris, Piastri, Leclerc, Sainz, Perez, Hamilton, Gasly, Alonso, Russell
F1 Qatar GP LIVE: George Russell pits (Lap 24/57)
Mercedes don’t let Piastri get ahead as they pit Russell, but it’s a very slow stop - 7 seconds!
He drops to 11th - when it should have been eighth at worse!
Nightmare for Russell!
F1 Qatar GP LIVE: Oscar Piastri right on the tail of George Russell (Lap 23/57)
Closest battle on track is for third, with Piastri within half-a-second of Russell!
Mercedes are struggling for pace compared to McLaren, here.
How long can Russell hold on?!
F1 Qatar GP LIVE: Oscar Piastri understeers at the final turn (Lap 17/57)
Chasing George Russell in third with DRS, Piastri goes a tad off track before the home straight - and loses a lot of ground!
Other than that, no movement in the pit-lane for the top-10 - as Norris sets the fastest lap and cuts the gap to Verstappen to 1.7 secs.
Top-10: Verstappen, Norris, Russell, Piastri, Leclerc, Sainz, Perez, Hamilton, Magnussen, Gasly
F1 Qatar GP LIVE: Lewis Hamilton receives a penalty (Lap 14/57)
Five-second penalty for the seven-time champion for that false start!
He’ll have to serve that at his first pit stop.
At the front, Verstappen’s lead has extended to two seconds to Norris.
Top-10: Verstappen, Norris, Russell, Piastri, Leclerc, Sainz, Perez, Hamilton, Magnussen, Gasly
F1 Qatar GP LIVE: Verstappen has a healthy lead (Lap 8/57)
Max Verstappen’s gap is 1.7 seconds to Lando Norris, who has a 1.2-second gap to George Russell.
Lewis Hamilton has been noted for a false start by the stewards, too.
Further back, Lance Stroll has retired from the race.
Top-10: Verstappen, Norris, Russell, Piastri, Leclerc, Sainz, Perez, Hamilton, Tsunoda, Magnussen
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