Qatar 2025 F1 Results: Verstappen Wins, World Title Competition Is More Exciting

Max Verstappen won F1 GP Qatar (Instagram/@maxverstappen1).

JAKARTA The match for the Formula One (F1) world title season for the 2025 competition is getting fiercer after defending champion Max Verstappen managed to win the Qatar Grand Prix.

The Red Bull racer managed to climb onto the highest podium after finishing with a time of one hour 24 minutes 38.241 seconds at the Losail Circuit, Qatar, on Sunday local time or Monday morning WIB.

Victory in Qatar made Verstappen now collect 396 points and managed to move up to second place in the standings to shift McLaren Oscar Piastri drivers who dropped to third.

Verstappen, who won the world title four years in a row, is now only 12 points behind McLaren Lando Norris, who is the leader of the world title race and is already four points ahead of Piastri.

The narrow number difference between the three riders has determined that the 2025 Formula 1 title will take place in the final series of this season at Grand Abu Dhabi on 7 December.

With such a narrow advantage, Norris, who controls as the top of the standings throughout the season, inevitably has to try to win the last race later if he wants to break Verstappen's dominance in the previous four seasons.

Norris and Piastri's failure to win the race at the Qatar Grand Prix was actually triggered by McLaren's wrong decision not to pull both drivers into the pits under the initial safety car.

Safety car in the seventh round (lap) after an incident involving Nico Hulkenberg of Sauber and Alpine's Pierre Gasly dramatically changed the course of the Qatar Grand Prix.

When Oscar Piastri took the lead and his teammate Lando Norris was in third place when the safety car came out, McLaren instead chose not to get into the pits, in contrast to Verstappen who was in second place and decided to do so.

Red Bull's decision to withdraw Verstappen to the pits was evident to be crucial because the Dutchman finally won a brilliant and unexpected victory while heating up the title race this season.

"Overall this is a disappointing result. We have the potential to win races with Oscar. He deserves to get it. He is fastest in qualifying and sprinting," said McLaren Principal Team, Andrea Stella, as reported by Sky Sport.

Oscar Piastri himself was very disappointed and criticized McLaren's strategy at the Qatar Grand Prix after failing to win over Max Verstappen.

Piastri had led the race early and McLaren had enough speed to secure first and second finish, but their team's strategic decisions were a problem.

"I can't say anything. Obviously we didn't do it right tonight. I raced as well as possible and as quickly as I could," he said.