McLaren took a double victory in the Qatar sprint and took a step closer to the team’s first F1 manufacturers’ championship in 26 years.
17:06•Updated 17:40
They brought a double victory to the McLaren team in the Qatar sprint race Oscar Piastri and Lando Norriswho let Piastri pass him at the end.
Norris said he cleared the debt: Piastri let Norris win in the Brazilian GP sprint, when he was still fighting for the world championship at the time Max Verstappen’s with. The stable did not demand “debt payment”.
– Double win and maximum points, so a good job for the team. We did our job. I had been planning this since Brazil, I wanted to do this. Talli said not to do that, but I did and as well as I could, Norris acknowledged.
McLaren is closing in on its first F1 manufacturers’ championship in 26 years. After Saturday’s sprint, the British team has 623 points, while its biggest threat, Ferrari, has 30 points less.
Mercedes George Russell was third, and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who secured the world championship last weekend, was eighth. Red Bull already fell 67 points behind McLaren in the teams’ championship battle, when the Dutchman was far behind the leader.
Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas drove 12th.
F1 Sprint, Qatar, results:
1. Oscar Piastri, McLaren
2. Lando Norris, McLaren +0.136
3. George Russell, Mercedes +0.410
4. Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari +1.326
5. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari +5.073
6. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes +5.650
7. Nico Hulkenberg, Haas +8.508
8. Max Verstappen, Red Bull +10.368
9. Pierre Gasly, BWT Alpine +14.513
10. Kevin Magnussen, Haas +15.485
11. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin +19.204
12. Valtteri Bottas, Sauber +23.351
13. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin +24.421
14. Esteban Ocon, BWT Alpine +30.379
15. Alexander Albon, Williams +33.062
16. Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls +34.356
17. Yuki Tsunoda, Racing Bulls +35.102
18. Franco Colapinto, Williams +35.639
19. Guanyu Zhou, Sauber +1.11.436
20. Sergio Perez, Red Bull +1.14.371