(Reuters) – Team by team analysis of Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix, round 17 of the 22-race Formula One season (listed in championship order):
RED BULL (Max Verstappen 1, Sergio Perez 10)
Verstappen took his first win as a triple world champion, a title secured in the Saturday sprint, after starting on pole position. He also secured fastest lap. The win was his 14th of the season and 49th of his career. Perez started in the pit lane with hard tyres after parts were replaced following his sprint crash. He collected 15 seconds of penalties for exceeding track limits and dropped to 10th at the end of the race as a result.
MERCEDES (George Russell 4, Lewis Hamilton retired)
Russell and Hamilton collided at the first corner of the opening lap, with Hamilton losing a wheel and retiring in the gravel. Russell pitted at the end of the lap and resumed at the back but worked his way back up to fourth in intense heat. Mercedes are now 28 points away from Ferrari thanks to their sprint points.
FERRARI (Charles Leclerc 5, Carlos Sainz did not start)
Sainz was unable to start due to a fuel system problem. Leclerc started fifth and was able to limit the damage, helped by Hamilton’s retirement. He gained two places on lap one but was passed by Piastri while Norris and Russell overtook later.
ASTON MARTIN (Fernando Alonso 6, Lance Stroll 11)
Alonso suffered from a very hot seat from lap 15 onwards. His car suffered some floor damage after going off into the gravel. Stewards looked into his possible unsafe return to the track in front of Leclerc and gave the Spaniard a reprimand but no time penalty. Stroll dropped out of the points after post-race penalties for track limits.
MCLAREN (Oscar Piastri 2, Lando Norris 3)
A second double podium of the weekend for McLaren after Piastri won the sprint. They are now only 11 points behind Aston Martin after taking 104 from their last three races. Piastri started sixth and Norris 10th, with one of the latter’s pitstops done in 1.8 seconds. McLaren also celebrated their 500th podium in Formula One.
ALPINE (Esteban Ocon 7, Pierre Gasly 12)
Ocon said he was throwing up in his helmet from early on. Gasly was inside the points but dropped out of the top 10 due to three separate penalties for exceeding track limits. He also had an energy management problem.
WILLIAMS (Alex Albon 13, Logan Sargeant retired)
Sargeant retired after feeling unwell earlier in the week and suffering from intense dehydration. Albon was taken to the medical centre with heat exposure before being released. The Thai led for a lap as others pitted.
ALFA ROMEO (Valtteri Bottas 8, Guanyu Zhou 9)
Alfa returned to the points with their biggest one race haul of the season so far, thanks also to penalties to others ahead at the chequered flag. The six points lifted them ahead of Haas. Zhou started at the back of the grid in 19th place.
HAAS (Kevin Magnussen 14, Nico Hulkenberg 16)
Hulkenberg had to serve a 10 second penalty at his first pitstop for starting in the wrong grid spot, dropping him down the field after starting 14th. Magnussen started 18th on soft tyres. The team are looking forward to a car upgrade at the next race in Austin.
ALPHATAURI (Yuki Tsunoda 15, Liam Lawson 17)
Lawson bowed out after five races filling in for the injured Daniel Ricciardo, who is due to return in Austin. He struggled with stability issues and a lack of pace. Tsunoda overstressed his tyres battling Albon.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Ken Ferris)
