Five Formula 1 Winners & Losers: Qatar Grand Prix

Photo from Formula 1

It will be a three way fight in the season finale next week, and that is astounding to me.

But that’s where we are, and it’s all up for grabs.

Here are the winners & losers from Qatar.

Losers

5. Oscar Piastri

Oscar was fastest in practice, got sprint pole, won the sprint race, got grand prix pole, but ended up 2nd in the race.

And considering the gap he needed, a win was crucial there.

But it’s not his fault.

We’ll get to why later.

4. Isack Hadjar

Hadjar was having a phenomenal race once again, but some debris got under his car and damaged his wing and tire which meant Hadjar was forced to retire from the race and go home with nothing.

Tough end to a great day for the Frenchman.

3. Pierre Gasly

Another top 10 qualifying performance for Gasly in what is the worst car on the grid, and he never had a chance to convert it to points after he was punted off the track on lap 7.

Maybe 2026 will be better.

2. Nico Hulkenberg

Another driver who had a good qualifying performance and was running in the points but had to retire from the race, but that’s because he was the one who punted Gasly off the track.

It was a simple racing incident, but it was a costly one.

1. McLaren

Pirelli announced earlier in the week that the maximum stint you could do on the tires was 25 laps.

It was a 57 lap race, meaning two stints of 25 and one stint of 7 at the maximum.

There was a safety car on lap 7. Because of that, everybody pit and got one of their two pit stops out of the way.

Everybody, except McLaren.

And at a track where track position is incredibly important, they ceded it to their championship rival Max Verstappen, leading to Oscar Piastri, dominant all weekend, to finish 2nd, and Lando Norris, running 3rd at the time, to finish 4th (and a lucky 4th considering he was 5th at the end of the race before Kimi Antonelli lost control and lost the position).

It was a completely unacceptable strategy call for McLaren and, again, I do think Lando Norris will be the world champion, but the fact that Verstappen still has a chance is criminal, and a large part of it is McLaren’s bizarre mistakes.

They can’t make that error next week, or they’re in deep trouble.

Winners

5. Oscar Piastri

Yeah, I know I put him in the loser section, but he did everything right all weekend long when he desperately needed to.

He deserves credit for that.

And what better credit than this pointless ranking???

4. Fernando Alonso

A points finish for the veteran Spaniard, and an announcement that Adrian Newey will be team principal next year at Aston Martin.

That’s a good weekend, and a good sign of the future.

3. Kimi Antonelli

I know he made the mistake I mentioned earlier, but he was faster than his teammate George Russell in the race, and was doing a great job keeping the championship favorite behind at the end of the race until one error.

But still, a very good weekend for an 18 year old rookie.

2. Max Verstappen

He was 3rd fastest all weekend, but he got the win thanks to McLaren’s blunder.

And, because of that, is now just 12 points behind Lando Norris for the Formula 1 World Championship.

That feels frankly impossible, but it’s where we stand with one race remaining.

Unbelievable season from Max.

1. Carlos Sainz

It’s one thing to get a podium in a Williams.

It’s another thing for him to get it while holding off a Mercedes and a McLaren with a hampered car, as Sainz fought for the remaining 8 laps without having grip on right hand corners, which Qatar is filled with.

It’s been an amazing first season for Sainz at Williams, and simply fantastic to see Williams back on the podium this season.

The future is exciting for the legendary F1 team.