Race Rundown: Qatar & Abu Dhabi

Race Rundown 23 & 24: Qatar Sprint Weekend; Abu Dhabi - The Championship Decider

Qatar:

Sprint - 

The starting three spots for the sprint race were Oscar, George, and Lando. 

Off topic but I LOVE the Qatar track, the bright colors and beautiful designs.  

There was a huge DRS train starting with Bortoleto - Bortoleto, Bearman, Leclerc, Lawson, Ocon, Hülkenberg, Stroll.

Antonelli got a five second penalty exceeding track limits.  The ending three/sprint podium was Oscar, George, and Lando.

Grand Prix - 

The starting three for the race were Oscar, Lando and Max.  At the start, Max overtook Lando.  

Pierre Gasly got a black and white flag for joining the track unsafely. 

Then Nico Hülkenberg went off track (lap 7) and DNF’d.  Gasly had a collision with Hülkenberg and got a puncture.  The stewards decided on No Further Action for the collision.

There was a safety car.

Esteban Ocon was noted for moving before the signal and got a five second penalty.  

There was another DRS train from cars 6 - 10, from Alonso to Stroll.

Lap 24/25 Oscar pitted - he had a time of 3.1.

Lap 25/26 Lando pitted - he had a time of 2.1.

Stroll then was under investigation for speeding in the pit lane and received a five second penalty.

Lap 32/33 the pit lane was FULL.  Everybody pitted except for McLaren - which was a colossal mistake in my opinion.  Bearman was under investigation for unsafe release conditions.  

Lando started to struggle slightly.  Then McLaren pitted both of their drivers - but it was too late (again this was just my opinion).  Oscar pitted lap 42/43 with a time of 1.8 seconds.  Lando pitted on lap 44/45 with a time of 2.7 seconds.  

George Russell then got a black and white track limit on lap 45.

The podium was Max Verstappen, Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz.

In my opinion, McLaren messed up both Lando and Oscar’s race with their decision not to pit either of their drivers when everyone else was pitting.

Because of the way the Qatar sprint weekend went, the championship went onto Abu Dhabi, the final race of the season.  The final three title contenders of Lando Norris, Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri, all had a chance to win the Championship in the final race if certain conditions were met.

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix:

The starting three for this final race were Max, Lando and Oscar.  At the start of the race, Max jumped over to cover Lando.  Oscar then overtook Lando, which elicited a very dramatic reaction in my notes of “NOOOOO”.  There was an incident between Lewis Hamilton and Alex Albon which was noted - leaving the track and gaining an advantage.  There was also an incident between Pierre Gasly and Nico Hülkenberg - a collision.  

It was implied that Oscar overtaking Lando could have been planned by McLaren?  

Liam Lawson received a five second penalty for driving erratically.

Lando had a 2.1 sec pit stop, which isn’t terrible but he went in third and came out ninth.

Lando then overtook Kimi Antonelli.  I have to say, this was exciting for me, and while I love Kimi Antonelli, Lando is definitely my favorite driver.  I have stated this from the beginning. 

Lando then overtook Carlos.

Lando overtook Stroll and Lawson at the same time, and Liam Lawson was being a little aggressive towards Lando.  

Then Leclerc overtook Lawson and Stroll at the same time.

Then came the Yuki/Lando incident.  Lando overtook Yuki and there was some confusion about whether or not the overtake was fair.  Lando overtook Yuki but went off the track in the process, but the fairness comes into play with the fact that Yuki may have pushed him off the track by swerving.  

Yuki was noted for forcing a driver off the track and then received a five second penalty for more than one change of direction.  Lando was noted for gaining a position off track - it was deemed that there was No Further Investigation for Lando Norris.  This whole incident was nerve wracking because if Lando received a penalty it could have affected the championship standings. 

There was then an incident with Alex Albon and speeding in the pit lane.

A chain reaction of events occurred with pit stops.  Charles Leclerc pitted.  Lando Norris pitted in response to Charles and had a 2.4 second pit, and then Oscar pitted.  He had a 2.2 second pit stop.

Pierre Gasly then got a five second penalty for exceeding track limits.  There was also an incident between Stroll and Sainz that was noted.

The podium ended up being Max P1, Oscar P2, and Lando P3. 

These ending positions and standings meant that LANDO NORRIS WON THE WDC.  LANDO NORRIS IS THE WORLD CHAMPION.

Lando Norris won the World Championship by 2 points, with Max Verstappen coming in second and Oscar Piastri coming in third.

The 2025 Formula 1 World Drivers Champion

Lando Norris is the World Drivers Champion.  He encountered doubts and haters at every turn this season and came out on top.  It has also been confirmed that both Lando and Max are changing their numbers for next season as well.  With Lando Norris going to 1 and instead of going back to 33, Max Verstappen is going to 3.  This season was exceptional and I can not wait for next year and season!

Happy New Year!