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Lewis Hamilton (No. 44 Mercedes-AMG Petronas) closed the points gap to title rival Max Verstappen (No. 33 Red Bull Racing Honda) following a dominant victory in the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix at the Losail International Circuit. After a clinical start from pole position, Hamilton was able to control the pace at the front of the field with an indomitable lights-to-flag win, his second in a row after Brazil. But while Hamilton was impressive, so too was Verstappen, who was dropped from P2 to seventh on the grid for failing to respect double waved yellow flags in qualifying. Verstappen shrugged off the disappointment, though, jumping to P4 at the start before quickly making his way up to second, before following Hamilton home to limit the damage to his title lead, which now stands at eight points as Verstappen claimed the fastest lap bonus point. Meanwhile, there was joy down at Alpine as Fernando Alonso (No. 14 Alpine Renault F1 Team) returned to the podium for the first time since the 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix, the Spaniard having executed an aggressive drive to survive late-race pressure from Sergio Perez (No. 11 Red Bull Racing Honda) to take third. Watch the race highlights here. (Thank you to F1 Media) (11/24)
Lewis Hamilton (No. 44 Mercedes-AMG Petronas) closed the points gap to title rival Max Verstappen (No. 33 Red Bull Racing Honda) following a dominant victory in the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix at the Losail International Circuit. After a clinical start from pole position, Hamilton was able to control the pace at the front of the field with an indomitable lights-to-flag win, his second in a row after Brazil. But while Hamilton was impressive, so too was Verstappen, who was dropped from P2 to seventh on the grid for failing to respect double waved yellow flags in qualifying. Verstappen shrugged off the disappointment, though, jumping to P4 at the start before quickly making his way up to second, before following Hamilton home to limit the damage to his title lead, which now stands at eight points as Verstappen claimed the fastest lap bonus point. Meanwhile, there was joy down at Alpine as Fernando Alonso (No. 14 Alpine Renault F1 Team) returned to the podium for the first time since the 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix, the Spaniard having executed an aggressive drive to survive late-race pressure from Sergio Perez (No. 11 Red Bull Racing Honda) to take third. Watch the race highlights here. (Thank you to F1 Media) (11/24)