Formula 1: Lando Norris’ penalty allows Ferrari to reduce McLaren’s constructor’s lead to 21 points before the season finale

A bizarre refereeing sequence at Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix could result in McLaren losing the constructors’ championship.

Max Verstappen won the race, while Lando Norris had to pit from second place and served a 10-second drive-through penalty for failing to slow down under a yellow flag. In the middle of the race, a car’s wing mirror fell off and remained in the middle of the main straight for several laps.

Race officials simply waved yellow flags at the end of the straight rather than calling a safety car or calling a virtual safety car to collect the mirror. While the officials were waiting to do something about the mirror, Valtteri Bottas ran over him and the mirror shattered into countless pieces.

These parts then seemed to cause damage to the front tires of both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz. After the two drivers suffered tire damage, Formula 1 finally called in a safety car.

Norris’ penalty came on the laps in which the intact mirror was on the track. He had to pit with twelve laps to go and finished tenth while setting the fastest lap.

With Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finishing second, his teammate Carlos Sainz sixth and Norris’ McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri third, Ferrari gained nine points on McLaren and is now 21 points ahead of the season finale in Abu Dhabi on December 8th.

The victory is Verstappen’s ninth win of the season. He won the 2024 title a week ago in Las Vegas.

Pole-sitter George Russell was fourth ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, who was fifth.

There were three safety car periods in the race, including one on lap one when Nico Hülkenberg, Franco Colapinto and Esteban Ocon collided at the back of the field. The crash ended the day for both Colapinto and Ocon.

The second safety car came after the mirror fiasco and the third happened when Hülkenberg and Sergio Perez both had problems at the race restart. Perez said his car lost power and simply stalled.

Zhou Guanyu took advantage of the chaos and finished eighth. These are the first points Sauber has scored all season, and all ten teams have now officially scored points this season.

Race results

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, Clean

9. Kevin Magnussen, Haas

10. Lando Norris, McLaren

11. Valtteri Bottas, Sauber

12. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

13. Yuki Tsunoda, RB

14. Liam Lawson, RB

15. Alex Albon, Williams

Not classified: Nico Hülkenberg (Haas), Sergio Perez (Red Bull), Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), Franco Colapinto (Williams), Esteban Ocon (Alpine)