Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won a dramatic Qatar Grand Prix that was brought to life by two mid-race safety cars and a penalty for McLaren’s Lando Norris.
Verstappen was in a tight fight with Norris throughout the race until the Briton was given a 10-second stop-and-go penalty for failing to slow for yellow flags.
The Dutchman was instrumental in getting Norris the penalty after pointing the incident out to his team.
Meanwhile, there will be questions about the management of the race by governing body the FIA, after Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz both suffered punctures.
It is unclear whether the punctures were caused by worn tyres or debris from a wing mirror that had been lying on the pit straight for about three laps before it was smashed by Valtteri Bottas’ Sauber. The FIA has not responded to questions as to why the mirror was not cleared up earlier.
The punctures happened shortly after the mirror was hit, and the safety car was called to allow marshals to clear the shattered carbon-fibre and glass.
At the restart, Norris challenged Verstappen, who defended his position robustly, but their tussle was academic, because of the penalty.
The punishment also ended McLaren’s hopes of tying up the constructors’ championship in this race.
They now go to the final race in Abu Dhabi next weekend with a 21-point lead over Ferrari and a maximum of 44 points available to score.
