Red Bull star Max Verstappen maintains title aspirations with Qatar Grand Prix win

Red Bull’s lead driver Max Verstappen has kept up his hopes of a fifth consecutive Driver’s Championship after winning the Qatar Grand Prix.

Verstappen’s victory at the Lusail International Circuit means that he has closed the gap going into next weekend’s F1 season finale in Abu Dhabi, with the Dutchman entering the final race of the 2025 F1 season 12 points behind championship leader Lando Norris.

The Dutchman is one of three drivers who can still win the title, with Norris and his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri also viable contenders.

Meanwhile, teammate Yuki Tsunoda picked up a points finish, with the Japanese driver finishing 10th.

Red Bull remain third in the Constructor’s Championship, with the Milton Keynes-based team entering the season finale 33 points behind second-place Mercedes and 44 ahead of fourth place Ferrari.

After Verstappen had finished behind Norris at the end of Saturday’s sprint race, the Dutchman entered the full distance Qatar Grand Prix knowing that if he finished behind Norris, his title hopes would be over.

Verstappen overtook Norris to move into second place on the opening lap, with the two drivers staying in position for the first phase of the race.

The pivotal moment came on lap 7, when Pierre Gasly and Nico Hulkenberg collided as the Sauber attempted to pass the Alpine. This triggered a safety car.

F1’s tyre makers Pirelli had said pre-race that all tyres had a finite lifespan of 25 laps, meaning that pitting during the safety car would see all drivers who did so know they had to run to lap 32, and then another 25 to the end of the race.

As a result, Verstappen and Tsunoda both came into the box, with 16 of the 19 cars choosing to come in. Crucially, two of those who chose to stay out were McLaren pair Piastri and Norris, who would come in to the pits around lap 24 and 25 as previously planned.

This choice meant that Verstappen was able to put together a strategy meeting Pirelli’s tyre guidance, with the McLarens unable to catch up after making both stops at full racing speed, and Verstappen duly took the flag to win the Qatar Grand Prix for the third year in a row.

Going into the final race, Verstappen will win the championship if he wins the race and Norris fails to finish on the podium, although all manner of other permutations could see him become champion. Norris was able to pick up 2 extra points late on after taking 4th with a late overtake on Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

As for Tsunoda, the second Red Bull had been on course to finish 12th when the grid settled after the first round of pit-stops, but he was bumped up places when first Ollie Bearman’s race was ruined by a problem at Haas’ second stop, and then when Isack Hadjar suffered race-ending car damage in the final stages of the race.

The final round of the season takes place this weekend, with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix closing the 2025 season. The race will be the first time that F1 has a title deciding final race since 2021, when Verstappen won his first championship, and the first time more than two drivers enter the final race with a chance to win the championship since 2010, when Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel won in a four-way duel to take the title.