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Max Verstappen won the Qatar Grand Prix, yesterday beating Oscar Piastri to take second place in the Drivers’ standings. Verstappen is now 12 points behind championship leader Lando Norris. A bad pit stop call – staying on track during a safety car deployment – likely hurt both McLaren drivers, with Piastri finishing second. Verstappen’s driving prowess inarguable was one again in play. Also AutoInformed opines was a heartwarming side of Max that rarely comes into view. The disqualification of both McLaren cars after the Las Vegas race made Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen tied in points, and only 24 points behind leader Lando Norris. The last race weekend of the season occurs on December 5-7 – the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. (Read AutoInformed.com on: Visit Qatar to Be Principal Partner of Audi F1 Team )
“This year, we just had a really tough first half of the season, as everyone knows. But to still be in this fight—at the same time, I think we can be really proud of it because in the middle of the season, at some point, it was almost – not like you lose motivation – but you don’t really see a way forward of actually winning again in this season. It’s almost like you have to hope that 2026 would be better,” said Verstappen the reigning world champion since Abu Dhabi 2021 in the post-race press conference.
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“But we definitely made some really good steps with the car, and in some weekends, for sure, we were in a very competitive state, I would say, where we could win races. But at the same time, we’ve also won races where maybe we shouldn’t have, like today, by making the right call as a team. And then, of course, it’s still up to me to execute it in the best way possible.
“But that’s, at the end of the day, also a proper team effort. The way I work with my race engineer, with GP, and also the guys in the background – the whole team very close to me – I think we’re really well integrated, and we know exactly what we need to ask of each other. That probably helps also when you’re in a battle like this, when you’re not the quickest, but you still pretty much maximize everything you’ve got,” said Verstappen.
Piastri’s Thoughts
Given that he has to make an extra pit stop, Piastri almost caught Verstappen – closing the gap to 8 seconds when the checkered flag dropped.
“You know, clearly, we didn’t get it right tonight. I drove the best race that I could, as fast as I could, and yeah, there was nothing left out there. So tried my best, but it wasn’t to be tonight unfortunately…. I think in hindsight it’s pretty obvious what we would have done, but I’m sure we’ll discuss it as a team….Yeah, I mean it’s not all bad, obviously. It’s been a really good weekend. The pace has been very strong, but yeah, obviously a little bit tough to swallow at the moment,” Piastri said post race.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
F1 Driver’s Championship Goes Down to Last Race
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Max Verstappen won the Qatar Grand Prix, yesterday beating Oscar Piastri to take second place in the Drivers’ standings. Verstappen is now 12 points behind championship leader Lando Norris. A bad pit stop call – staying on track during a safety car deployment – likely hurt both McLaren drivers, with Piastri finishing second. Verstappen’s driving prowess inarguable was one again in play. Also AutoInformed opines was a heartwarming side of Max that rarely comes into view. The disqualification of both McLaren cars after the Las Vegas race made Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen tied in points, and only 24 points behind leader Lando Norris. The last race weekend of the season occurs on December 5-7 – the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. (Read AutoInformed.com on: Visit Qatar to Be Principal Partner of Audi F1 Team )
“This year, we just had a really tough first half of the season, as everyone knows. But to still be in this fight—at the same time, I think we can be really proud of it because in the middle of the season, at some point, it was almost – not like you lose motivation – but you don’t really see a way forward of actually winning again in this season. It’s almost like you have to hope that 2026 would be better,” said Verstappen the reigning world champion since Abu Dhabi 2021 in the post-race press conference.
Click for more.
“But we definitely made some really good steps with the car, and in some weekends, for sure, we were in a very competitive state, I would say, where we could win races. But at the same time, we’ve also won races where maybe we shouldn’t have, like today, by making the right call as a team. And then, of course, it’s still up to me to execute it in the best way possible.
“But that’s, at the end of the day, also a proper team effort. The way I work with my race engineer, with GP, and also the guys in the background – the whole team very close to me – I think we’re really well integrated, and we know exactly what we need to ask of each other. That probably helps also when you’re in a battle like this, when you’re not the quickest, but you still pretty much maximize everything you’ve got,” said Verstappen.
Piastri’s Thoughts
Given that he has to make an extra pit stop, Piastri almost caught Verstappen – closing the gap to 8 seconds when the checkered flag dropped.
“You know, clearly, we didn’t get it right tonight. I drove the best race that I could, as fast as I could, and yeah, there was nothing left out there. So tried my best, but it wasn’t to be tonight unfortunately…. I think in hindsight it’s pretty obvious what we would have done, but I’m sure we’ll discuss it as a team….Yeah, I mean it’s not all bad, obviously. It’s been a really good weekend. The pace has been very strong, but yeah, obviously a little bit tough to swallow at the moment,” Piastri said post race.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.