Piastri Claims Qatar Sprint Victory After Norris Team Gesture
Oscar Piastri secured victory in the Qatar Sprint following a strategic final-lap position switch with McLaren teammate Lando Norris, completing a McLaren 1-2 finish. The move reciprocated Piastri's similar gesture from the Sao Paulo sprint last month.
Norris, starting from pole, dominated the early stages while Piastri overtook George Russell for second place in an aggressive Turn 1-2 combination. McLaren employed team tactics throughout the race, with Norris managing his pace to help Piastri defend against Russell's Mercedes using DRS strategy.
Two IndyCar racers competing head-to-head
The race featured multiple attempted overtakes by Russell on Piastri, all successfully defended by the Australian. Despite team instructions against it, Norris executed a calculated position switch at the final corner, handing the win to Piastri while maintaining the team's maximum points haul.
Ferrari limited their constructors' championship damage with Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc finishing fourth and fifth respectively. Lewis Hamilton secured sixth place, while Nico Hulkenberg scored valuable points for Haas in seventh. Notably, Max Verstappen struggled with an uncharacteristically low eighth-place finish after a poor start.
The result maintains McLaren's strong form while narrowing their gap to Ferrari in the constructors' championship to 30 points.
F1 race results standings
Final standings saw Piastri first, followed by Norris and Russell completing the podium, with the remaining points positions filled by Sainz, Leclerc, Hamilton, Hulkenberg, and Verstappen.
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