Max Verstappen took benefit of McLaren’s massive fumble and gained the three-way title race to the top.
Listed below are the largest winners and losers of the 2025 Qatar Grand Prix…
Loser – McLaren
If McLaren proceed to lose on this yr’s Drivers’ World Championship, they are going to solely have themselves in charge.
The early introduction of the protection automobile and the driving force’s alternative to not pit when the remainder of the sector got here in eradicated the opportunity of a 1-2 end and opened the door for Verstappen to be within the title race.
Oscar Piastri particularly will probably be understandably upset to have missed out on a well-deserved victory regardless of his glorious performances all weekend.
McLaren gave Verstappen a ton of factors as a consequence of his personal errors, making it his second weekend on the quick monitor.
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Winner – Max Verstappen
McLaren’s loss was Verstappen’s achieve, and Verstappen devoured the reward with each palms and staged an ideal race to take an enormous victory.
With McLaren sacrificing monitor place to Verstappen, the four-time world champion managed the circulation of the match and took benefit of the early aim he was given to take his seventh win of the season.
Verstappen now finds himself in the midst of an sudden three-way championship showdown in Abu Dhabi, 13 factors away from turning into a five-time world champion.
Loser – Ferrari
Ferrari had a really depressing weekend in Qatar in 2025, hitting an all-time low. The SF-25 seemed like an actual handful to drive, with each Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton struggling to maintain their automobiles on monitor.
Hamilton’s first yr in purple had an excessive amount of work to do within the race, with a collection of early losses in each dash and common qualifying.
After a meaningless dash race, Ferrari’s first scoreless run on this format for the reason that 2021 Italian Grand Prix, a nightmare weekend that noticed the group accept a disappointing fourth place within the constructors’ championship, with Leclerc’s nameless eighth-place end being all that saved them.
Winner – Carlos Sainz and Williams
Sainz celebrates podium with Williams
Overshadowed by the drama of the championship, Carlos Sainz ran an awesome race and benefited from McLaren’s errors to take Williams’ unlikely second podium of the season.
Sainz completed third for the second time in 2025, sealing Williams’ fifth place within the constructors’ championship and his finest end in F1 since 2017.
Loser – Nico Hulkenberg
Nico Hulkenberg’s hopes of scoring necessary factors for Sauber have been dashed by a race-ending collision with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly on lap seven.
The German veteran was working tenth and was making an attempt to catch up Gasly in ninth, however the two collided on the skin of Flip 1 and Hulkenberg spun into the gravel, worsening the crash.
Hulkenberg’s second retirement in 4 races ended Sauber’s hopes of catching up with Haas, who’re eighth within the constructors’ standings.
Winner – Mercedes
Though errors from Kimi Antonelli and George Russell price Mercedes a poor end result, fifth and sixth place was sufficient to virtually seal second place within the constructors’ standings, a marked enchancment from 2024.
Loser – Pierre Gasly
Gasly ruined his and Hulkenberg’s race
Gasly was the loser in Qatar, tangled with Hulkenberg, erasing Alpine’s possibilities of a uncommon top-10 end.
The Frenchman carried out nicely in qualifying to advance to Q3 and safe a ninth beginning spot, however all his efforts have been in useless within the early phases of Sunday’s Grand Prix.
Winner – Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso accomplished a robust weekend with a seventh place, one of the best of any Aston Martin midfield participant, and his second level of the day.
Alonso had been working sixth for many of the race, however a giant spin dropped him to Russell and Racing Bull’s Isaac Hajjar, however the latter’s puncture noticed the Spaniard transfer again up.
Loser – Fireside
Oliver Bearman was within the factors place, however an unsafe launch and subsequent 10-second stop-go penalty ended his hopes of scoring factors for the sixth straight yr. It was a disastrous evening for Haas as teammate Esteban Ocon was additionally penalized for a false begin en path to fifteenth place.
Winner – Liam Lawson
Lawson scores necessary factors for Racing Bulls
Liam Lawson took benefit of his teammate’s misfortune and fought his manner into the highest ten with a strong drive for ninth place and two factors, holding the Racing Bulls forward of the Aston Martins.
Lawson additionally gained in opposition to Purple Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda, which means the Kiwi’s hopes of securing a future on the F1 grid subsequent season stay intact.
