Mercedes Leaves Points On The Table With Opening Lap Crash In Qatar
Just because Max Verstappen has already locked up the World Championship, you didn’t think the Formula 1 drama would be over, did you?
The Qatar Grand Prix was an interesting race in that the FIA mandated a maximum stint length of 18 laps. This was over some concerns about the Pirelli tires failing, thanks to some of the aggressive curbs (kerbs?) around the Ludwig International Circuit, which was built with MotoGP in mind.
So, strategy was obviously the story of the day. As you’ve probably come to expect, Red Bull is virtually immune to any and all strategy wrenches. If they can through four round tires on Max Verstappen’s car, he will drive off into the sunset.
That’s what he did Sunday.
Verstappen drove to a relatively uneventful and was joined by both McLarens on the podium. Sprint race-winner Oscar Piastri came home in P2, while Lando Norris finished in P3.
Perhaps the biggest drama of the day happened just behind him on the opening lap.
Mercedes Misses Out On Possible Double Points Finish
Mercedes entered Sunday’s race in a tight battle with Ferrari for second in the constructor standings. They got some good news before the race when it was announced that Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz wouldn’t start the race due to a fuel system leak.
This was a huge opportunity for Mercedes to build on their lead with George Russell in P2 and Lewis Hamilton in P3 at the start. With Charles Leclerc — the only Ferrari taking part in the race — behind them in P5.
However, Mercedes’ hopes of a big points haul went up in a puff of gravel dust on the opening corner when Russell and Hamilton collided at Turn 1.
Hamilton retired after losing a wheel and getting beached in the gravel, while Russell a new front wing and dropped to the back of the field.
While Russell had a strong recovery drive and finished P4 just ahead of Charles Leclerc in P5, it only made for a slight boost to their gap over Ferrari. Disappointing on a day when they could have really made things hard on the Scuderia.
The Mercs (or at least one of them) made lemonade out of Lap 1 lemons. Still, the team squandered a real opportunity to pull away from Ferrari even further.
McLaren Continues To Shine
Look out for the fellas in papaya.
McLaren continues to be arguably the second-strongest team on the grid since the summer break. In Qatar, they got both drivers on the podium for the second week in a row.
That's huge as the team continues its upward trajectory and eats into the gap to Aston Martin for P4 in the standings.
They arrived in Qatar 49 points back, and through the sprint and grand prix, that deficit has been whittled down to 11.
Aston Martin is in some serious trouble. They'll miss out on millions in prize money if they can't find a way to stay ahead of the McLarens.
That's much easier said than done.
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The Formula 1 circus is taking a week off. They'll be back in action October 20 through 22 for the United States Grand Prix. It'll be the series' second of three US stops along with the Miami Grand Prix and the Las Vegas Grand Prix in November.
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