Sports writing (EFE).- Dutch Red Bull driver Max Verstappen made a statement and won the Qatar Grand Prix, surpassing the other candidates for the world title, Australian Oscar Piastri, second, and British Lando Norris, fourth, both from McLaren, while Spaniard Carlos Sainz (Williams) was third.
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With this outcome in Lusail, the title will be decided in Abu Dhabi, in the last race of the championship, drawing a more than close outcome with Norris still leading the classification with 408 points, although now with Max only 12 (396) and Piastri at 16 (392).
El piloto de Red Bull Racing Max Verstappen compite en la Clasificación para el Gran Premio de Fórmula 1 de Catar. EFE/EPA/ALI HAIDER
Sainz: “It’s been one of my best and most unexpected races”
The Spanish Williams driver, Carlos Sainz, was “happy” and “proud of the whole team” after signing in Qatar one of his “best and most unexpected races”, where he achieved a surprising third place, also securing the British team’s fifth place in the constructors’ championship.
“I am very happy, content and proud of the whole team, because we thought it was going to be the most complicated weekend of the season. I have gone faster than I expected and we have nailed it both in the stops and in the adjustments,” he explained.
“We’ve done everything perfectly. In the first half of the season we weren’t managing to get it right and as the season has gone on we’ve been improving. I’m on cloud nine with this podium because I wasn’t expecting it,” he added.
El piloto de Red Bull Racing, Max Verstappen (i), y el piloto de Williams, Carlos Sainz Jr., celebran en el podio tras el Gran Premio de Catar de Fórmula 1. EFE/EPA/ALI HAIDER
“Coming out seventh, you don’t expect a podium. We ended up fighting for a third place against the McLarens, something incredible. The changes in the car’s setup have given us a very good race pace,” he said.
However, he acknowledged that in the last laps “a piece broke and it’s a good thing it was on the final straight”, because they lost “front grip”. “I think if the race had been extended one or two more laps, Norris could have overtaken us,” he admitted.
Alonso: “It’s been the best weekend of the year”
Spanish driver Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) said this Sunday that he is more than happy with the 8 points scored between the sprint and the race of the Qatar Grand Prix in Lusail and stated that for him it was “the best weekend of the whole year”.
“I didn’t expect to finish seventh today, it’s a prize we take with open arms. The truth is that the ‘safety car’ exit changed the race strategy. It has changed the development we expected from the race, although not much for us, because except for the McLarens, we have all copied the strategy,” he said.
“We had no rhythm. At least we could keep them behind us as it’s a difficult circuit to overtake on. Better impossible because we managed to hold on there, despite the ‘360’ -spin- that I suffered,” he highlighted.
“The car is impossible to drive at times. Qatar fortunately has enough asphalt to recover without problems. We ended up without front tires. This car is much more difficult to drive than what you see on TV,” he concluded. Categories
