2024 Qatar Grand Prix | 9 talking points

Verstappen’s start was key to victory

The complex case of the one-place grid penalty for driving “unnecessarily slowly” and impeding George Russell – even though neither of them were on push laps – only boosted Verstappen’s motivation ahead of the Qatar night race. Sure enough, he made another signature flying start from second of the grid to demote pole inheritor Russell –for whom he has apparently lost “all respect” following the Mercedes driver’s lobbying for punishment from the stewards.

Meanwhile, Lando Norris sliced down the inside from the second row and briefly nosed ahead of the Red Bull, but with the crucial inside line for Turn 2 Verstappen wasn’t about to back out. From there, the new four-time world champion controlled the race from the front despite the close attentions of Norris – until the McLaren driver dropped another clanger for the season and let his old friend clean off the hook.

Norris holds hand up for penalty

He was contrite to his team after the race and held his hand up to a beginner’s mistake. But failing to lift on the main straight for a yellow flag is just another example of the type of unforced error Norris must erase from his repertoire next year if he is to succeed in plugging together a championship campaign.

What impressed was how quickly Verstappen was wise to Norris’s offence. Alex Albon’s in-the-wars Williams had lost a mirror towards the braking zone on the main straight, which was then collected by Valtteri Bottas’s Sauber, spraying debris across the track. Yet Norris appeared to miss the flashing yellow warning board and kept his foot in while his prey backed off. Verstappen knew immediately what had happened with the gap between them much reduced and reported directly back to his team – and of course the listening stewards – over the radio. Sure enough, a penalty followed

This was a safety issue and a cardinal sin in motor racing. As Norris said, you’re taught as kids in karts to back off when you see waved yellows. That’s why he copped the maximum ten-second stop-go penalty, which dropped him to the back of a field pulled together by two safety cars. From there, the pressure was off Verstappen, who could then cruise to victory, with Norris only able to recover a point for tenth.

Constructors’ battle to go to the wire

Even had Norris finished second, McLaren wouldn’t have clinched its first constructors’ crown for 26 years in Qatar. But Charles Leclerc inheriting second place for Ferrari, beating the other McLaren of Oscar Piastri, only tightens the tension between the two teams as they head for the Abu Dhabi finale next weekend.

McLaren now leads Ferrari by 21 points with one to play, aided by the papaya team’s one-two in the Saturday sprint, during which Norris moved over to allow Piastri to win as payback for past team orders favours. The gap should be enough. But as we always know in motor racing, you never know. Norris was right to apologise for letting his team down – but at least he doesn’t have long to wait to make full amends.

Safety car delay raises more questions for FIA

The debris caused by Bottas hitting Albon’s lost mirror did result in a safety car – but the call for it was made far too late, possibly ruined the race for at least two drivers and caused general alarm that an obvious hazard wasn’t dealt with as it should have been. Why wasn’t a Virtual Safety Car called for the mirror to be removed? Then there would have been nothing for Bottas to hit when he ran off-line while being lapped.

As for the front-left punctures sustained directly after by both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz Jr., it wasn’t initially confirmed that they were caused by the debris – but it sure was a coincidence to have two identical-looking failures in the wake of such circumstances.

The buck stops with race director, Rui Marques, but two races into his new job it would be unfair if he took all the flak. Instead, ever-greater scrutiny will be directed at the FIA as a whole, under president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, following the abrupt sacking of Marques’s predecessor Niels Wittich and the even more recent departure of vastly experienced steward Tim Mayer – who was informed his services were no longer required via text. Classy.

Meanwhile, the president has alienated and fallen out with just about all of the F1 drivers and continues to stoke controversy. Confidence in the governing body and its ability to serve its purpose has once again been shaken.

Disappointment for Russell

A week after his Las Vegas win, Russell expected another healthy dose of points, especially starting from the front row. But after losing out to both Verstappen and Norris at the first turn his race just went from bad to worse. An early first stop was a slow seven seconds and he then struggled with tricky handling. He was also angered to be given a second set of the hard Pirelli tyres rather than the mediums. The only upside was that a five-second penalty for a safety car infringement didn’t cost him his fourth place.

Disaster for Hamilton

As for team-mate Lewis Hamilton, it was a weekend to forget as the drawn-out countdown to his Mercedes departure took another painful click to its conclusion. In a TV interview after another disappointing qualifying, Hamilton seemed to suggest he was “no longer fast” – but was that a wink before he walked away? Then in the grand prix, he was penalised for a false start, despite trying to rectify his mistake, and lost positions.

Reporting similar handling problems to Russell’s, the puncture was then a kick in the teeth and to make it all worse, he was caught speeding in the pitlane and copped another penalty. Result: 12^th. The end in Abu Dhabi can’t come soon enough.

Crucial points for Alpine

Pierre Gasly’s fine effort that netted him fifth was of high value to his team. The result lifts the Anglo-French squad back ahead of Haas to sixth in the constructors’ standings. Ahead of Abu Dhabi, Alpine is on 59, Haas 54 and RB 46. There are literally millions to play for between the three of them…

Points, too, for Zhou

Finally, they are off the mark! Sauber was the only team yet to score in 2024, but in what is at least his penultimate grand prix for now, Zhou Guanyu put in a driver of the day performance to equal his best F1 result: eighth, behind Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin and ahead of Kevin Magnussen’s Haas. It’s little more than a consolation in real terms, but Zhou is driving for pride right now – and perhaps a little more, given the uncertainty over what comes next for the Chinese driver. Just what he needed in the circumstances.

Ocon out of Alpine

A sad Qatar Grand Prix post-script for Esteban Ocon. After a race that ended early when he was caught up in a first-corner crash, news was already circulating on Sunday night that the Frenchman has been dropped ahead of what was supposed to be his final race for Alpine this coming weekend. Australian Jack Doohan, who will race for the team in 2025, has now been confirmed to replace him, making an earlier than expected F1 debut. Just two races after his opportunistic second place in Brazil and ahead of his move to Haas, Ocon’s increasingly difficult relationship with Alpine has ended on a sour note.

Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.