Qatar Grand Prix turns into ‘total shambles’ after mid-race ‘madness’
The Qatar Grand Prix suddenly exploded to become one of the wildest races of the year with “madness” unfolding.
F1
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There have been scenes of “madness” at the Qatar Grand Prix as Max Verstappen avoided carnage behind him to win the drama-charged race on Monday morning (AEDT).
Harsh penalties, safety cars, scary incidents and heated radio messages all ensued after Valtteri Bottas ran over a rogue rear wing mirror that had fallen off Alex Albon’s car and onto the main straight at the Lusail International Circuit.
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The race had been turned on its head when double yellow flags came out to control the race after Albon’s mirror fell off on lap 32.
Verstappen followed the incident by accusing McLaren’s Lando Norris — who was in second position at the time — of failing to lift off the throttle during the yellow flags.
It took more than 10 laps for FIA stewards to investigate Norris’ drive, but Verstappen eventually got his wish. Stewards came down hard on the British driver and he was handed a 10-second stop-go pit lane penalty, costing him around 35 seconds.
“That’s massive,” Jenson Button said on Sky F1.
“That seems unbelievably extreme.”
Verstappen overtook Lando Norris early in the race, recovering from a farcical one-place grid penalty that stripped him of pole position.
It looked like it was going to turn into another regulation Norris-Verstappen procession to the finish line before Bottas’ contact with Albon’s mirror sent debris flying all over the main straight. The stray debris wiped out several drivers, with Lewis Hamilton among those that was forced to pit because of tyre damage.
The forlorn Mercedes driver waived a white flag after the incident and asked his team over the radio if they could park his car. He was politely told he needed to continue with the race.
It is a staggering fall from grace from one of the greatest drivers the sport has known.
While there has been plenty of criticism directed at Hamilton, it is nothing compared to the outrage that is being directed towards FIA stewards.
The farcical decision to leave the mirror on the track rather than call an immediate safety car proved to be a shocker when Bottas ran over it two laps later.
FIA race director Rui Marques only assumed the job ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix last month with just three F1 rounds remaining in the season — following predecessor Niels Wittich’s surprising departure.
The erratic penalties and on-track safety blunders left some commentators shocked.
F1 journalist Matt Gallagher posted on X, formerly known as Twitter: “What are the FIA doing?
“Now everyone has punctures because they failed to sort the wing mirror situation.”
When the safety car was finally called, Gallagher labelled it an “absolute clown show”.
The penalty handed to Norris was also widely criticised.
F1 commentator Will Buxton called it “madness” to change the severity of punishments handed down.
“Glad to see the lesser spotted drive through penalty back in the game today, but at this stage of the season it feels mad to have the goal posts shift,” he posted on X.
“Agree with my F1TV colleagues on their in race commentary analysis — FIA in a total shambles. A lot of answers needed.”
Norris and his team are also looking for answers.
The penalty dropped Norris down to P15 and he only managed to fight back to finish tenth.
Teammate Oscar Piastri finished third.
It leaves McLaren 21 points ahead of Ferrari in the constructor’s championship heading into the season finale at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix next weekend.
McLaren had hoped to move closer to clinching the constructors’ championship for the first time since 1998.
Norris said he did not see the yellow flags, but admitted that he did not lift off.
“It’s a fair penalty,” he said.
“It’s the rule, but honestly, I don’t know what I did wrong.
“Apparently, I didn’t slow under the yellows.
“I am not an idiot and, if I saw a yellow, I would have slowed down. The rule is you have to slow down under the yellow, so it is a fair penalty.”
His McLaren race team boss Andrea Stella said stewards had “lost any sense of proportion and specificity in the penalty” — adding that they had not looked at the level of danger in that situation.
“The removal of the yellow flag and to then judge it with just a rule book full of dust ... and then to apply it without any sense of critical approach,” he added.
“It was an opportunity to do better for the FIA.”
Verstappen went on to win the race with a comfortable six-second gap ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Leclerc’s Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz was among the drivers that suffered tyre punctures as a result of the mid-race debris.
It was Verstappen’s ninth Grand Prix win this year.
George Russell finished fourth for Mercedes, despite being handed a late time penalty, ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Sainz.
Next came two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin and Zhou Guanyu of Sauber, who scored his and the team’s first points of the season.
Kevin Magnussen was ninth for Haas and Norris, after a ferocious finale following his penalty, was 10th for McLaren.
“I am very happy with that,” said Verstappen, who has recovered his form in the last three races.
“It’s been a long time since we had victory in the dry and it’s great for the team to be so competitive again.”
Leclerc said he was happy with second and forecast a “very tight” finish in the championship next weekend.
“But 21 points is still a big margin,” he added.
The race was red flagged for a safety car on the opening lap.
The drama came when Nico Hulkenberg lost the rear of his Haas and spun into Esteban Ocon’s Alpine.
The pair took innocent Williams driver Franco Colapinto out with them.
It was the luckless Williams team’s 16th crash of the season.
Racing resumed on lap five with the top three unchanged ahead of Leclerc and Piastri, who swiftly jumped back to fourth, a move that kept both McLarens ahead of the two Ferraris.
Qatar Qatar Grand Prix result
1) Max Verstappen, Red Bull
2) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
3) Oscar Piastri, McLaren
4) George Russell, Mercedes
5) Pierre Gasly, Alpine
6) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
7) Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin
8) Zhou Guanyu, Sauber
9) Kevin Magnussen, Haas
10) Lando Norris, McLaren
— with AFP
Originally published as Qatar Grand Prix turns into ‘total shambles’ after mid-race ‘madness’
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