Doha, Dec 2: Max Verstappen took a masterful victory in a hugely eventful Qatar Grand Prix, a race that featured three Safety Car appearances, numerous incidents and a penalty for Lando Norris that dropped the Briton down the order after earlier battling for the lead.

Having lost pole position following a one-place penalty for an incident in qualifying, Verstappen looked to be in fighting mode from the off, the Dutchman winning a battle for the lead against George Russell and Norris into Turn 1.

It was not necessarily a straightforward drive from there, however, with the Safety Car appearing on the first lap after Franco Colapinto and Esteban Ocon were both casualties in an incident with Nico Hulkenberg.

This proved to be the first of three Safety Car outings during the 57-lap encounter – and while the second restart saw Norris run close to Verstappen in a fight for the lead, the world champion ultimately held on and remained in the position through to the chequered flag.

Norris, meanwhile, saw what looked to be a certain podium result slip away after being handed a 10-second stop/go penalty for failing to slow under yellow flags, dropping him down the field and leaving him with a battle on his hands to claim points.

Charles Leclerc took second place, the Ferrari driver crossing the line six seconds back from Verstappen, while McLaren’s Oscar Piastri completed the podium in third. Russell was Mercedes’ sole points-scorer in fourth, ahead of Pierre Gasly who held off Carlos Sainz to take a solid fifth for Alpine.

Sainz had to settle for sixth in the Ferrari – recovering well from an earlier puncture – with fellow Spaniard Fernando Alonso taking home points for Aston Martin in seventh. Zhou Guanyu, meanwhile, scored Kick Sauber’s long-awaited debut points of the season by claiming a popular eighth place, also earning him the Driver of the Day accolade.

Kevin Magnussen was ninth for Haas, while Norris’s recovery drive following that aforementioned penalty saw him claim the final point in 10th. Valtteri Bottas just missed out on adding to Kick Sauber’s celebrations in 11th, with former teammate Lewis Hamilton cutting a dejected figure in 12th after receiving two penalties during the event.

The RB pair of Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson were P13 and P14 respectively, with Alex Albon the last classified runner in P15 for Williams. Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg was one of five retirees, the Haas spinning out and becoming beached in the gravel, while Sergio Perez also found himself out of the running after suffering a spin of his own in the Red Bull.

Lance Stroll recorded a DNF early on, having sustained damage to his Aston Martin following contact with Albon on the opening lap. Colapinto and Ocon also saw their races end before they had begun following that first corner incident with Hulkenberg.

(IANS)

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