DOHA, Qatar — Oscar Piastri clawed again two precious factors on Formulation 1 title rival Lando Norris with victory in a dash race which left Max Verstappen clinging on to rivalry.
Championship chief Norris — who can wrap up the title this weekend — settled for third behind Mercedes’ George Russell in a tense race which noticed F1’s different contender, Max Verstappen, end one place again in fourth place.
Third place was not a catastrophe for Norris’ title bid and he might be world champion if he wins Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix.
With eight factors handed out to the highest eight finishers in F1’s dash races Piastri heads into qualifying for that occasion, the penultimate spherical of the 12 months, 22 factors behind Norris, with Verstappen now 25 factors behind the Englishman with 50 left to play for over the subsequent two Sundays.
Verstappen spent the primary eight laps of the 19-lap occasion inside a second of Norris, which means he had use of the Drag Discount System (DRS) overtaking support down the straight to get nearer, however by no means appeared to have a reputable likelihood of forcing an overtake.
After that spell, he dropped again, ending 2.7 seconds behind Norris and 9.054 seconds behind Piastri, suggesting Purple Bull has work to do to be aggressive for the remainder of the weekend.
The reigning four-time world champion should now end forward of Norris on Sunday to nonetheless have any likelihood of successful a fifth world championship at subsequent week’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Saturday’s dash, the final of six this season, was a processional one missing any main drama protected for a begin made entertaining by the fast-starting Purple Bull of Verstappen’s teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who lept from fifth to difficult Norris for third at Flip 1. It was one other poor advert for the shortened model of racing F1 launched in 2021 to offer sure races by way of the season three days of aggressive motion.
Tsunoda shortly dropped again to complete what appeared set to be a season’s finest fifth, just for a five-second penalty for repeated observe limits violations dropping him again to sixth.
Even with the penalty, it was a refreshing displaying of tempo from the Japanese driver after a troublesome 12 months, and one which comes at an important level in his Formulation 1 profession.
Purple Bull is believed to be selling Isack Hadjar from the junior group to exchange Tsunoda subsequent 12 months, however has not determined whether or not to maintain the Japanese driver or Liam Lawson on the junior group, with rising firm expertise Arvid Lindblad anticipated to make the step up from Formulation 2 within the different seat.
With a call anticipated to come back between the races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, Sunday’s race is perhaps the ultimate likelihood for Tsunoda to place an exclamation mark beneath why he deserves to remain throughout the firm’s orbit.
Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli moved as much as fifth after Tsunoda’s penalty was utilized, though he himself got here beneath investigation for a observe limits violation of his personal.
That may nicely imply the order stays because it completed on observe.
Fernando Alonso completed seventh for Aston Martin, with Carlos Sainz taking the ultimate points-paying place in eighth.
Ferrari’s weekend began in depressing circumstances.
Pierro Ferrari, son of firm founder Enzo, watched on from the storage as Charles Leclerc completed thirteenth in an uncharacteristically sloppy show which concerned a number of off-track excursions.
The struggling Lewis Hamilton completed seventeenth within the different crimson automobile.