Max Verstappen makes the most of a savvy strategy choice to get the better of both McLarens and win the Qatar GP. Lando Norris finishes fourth to take a 12 point lead over Verstappen into the Abu Dhabi finale
McLaren rolls the dice and brings Piastri in from the race lead for his second stop to fit a set of hard tyres
Norris takes the lead, but he has Verstappen right behind him now.
Piastri has just 14 laps to reel 17secs to Verstappen ahead
Piastri may be leading Norris, but the advantage appears to be firmly with third place man Verstappen
The Dutchman doesn't need to stop again and while he needs to make his tyres go the distance, his hard tyres are giving up some good pace.
Piastri needs around 26secs on Verstappen to pit and get back ahead, but right now it's only +8.6s
10secs stop/go penalty for Bearman, just to rub salt into the wounds
Norris is reporting he might have damage on his car after an off
Running wide off the kerbs here take you straight into gravel, which has been causing some havoc for the cars this weekend.
Verstappen has closed the gap to Norris to +2.2s
We take it back, there was one victim in that mad pit-stop period.
Ollie Bearman gets something caught under his Haas as he tries to leave his pit-box, forcing him to spend several agonising seconds while the team sort him out.
He is now down to 18th having been running tenth and worse could come if stewards decide to penalise him further for an unsafe release
The majority of the stoppers have moved onto the hard tyre to allow them to get to complete the remaining 25 laps without excessive tyre wear in the latter stages.
Verstappen is +8.1 behind leader Piastri and +3.5s behind Norris in second
Ooft, that was a very busy pit-lane but everyone survives unscathed... though Russell is definitely on the limit both on entry and return to the pit road
Verstappen pits from the lead - Piastri and Norris resume in the lead as Sainz pits too
Norris closes on Antonelli but cannot get quite close enough to scythe up the inside - likely to spend this lap behind the Italian before he pits
Leclerc petitioning the stewards to take a look at Russell's line into the troublesome Turn 10, claiming he is 'outside the lines' on the way into the fast left-hander
Piastri dismisses Antonelli for third with ease on the run down to Turn 1
Piastri gets up to speed to hunt down Antonelli in third place, though both he, Sainz and Verstappen in first will jump out of the way any lap now for their second-pit-stop.
Incidentally, if you do the maths 32+25 = 57 Laps
It's going to be a very busy pit-lane on Lap 32...
5secs time penalty for Lance Stroll for speeding in the pit-lane - he is running 19th and last anyway
Verstappen moves into the lead of the race, but he - and everyone else that isn't a McLaren - are due to come in before the end of lap 32
Norris pits from his inherited lead - it'll be touch and go as to whether he comes out in front of a long train being led by Alonso in sixth
He fits mediums - comes out just in front of Alonso, phew that was close!
Piastri pits from the lead.
Fits another pair of mediums - returns to the track in fifth place behind Verstappen, Sainz and Antonelli
Piastri remains comfortably in front of Norris to the tune of +3.7s
However, Verstappen is keeping the McLaren duo - who are yet to pit - on their toes, just over four seconds adrift of Norris but with a pit-stop in his pocket.
As the race settles down again, it's worth giving a shout out to Carlos Sainz, who has jumped from seventh to currently fourth in the Williams.
Moreover, he has the measure of Antonelli in fifth behind him and is circulating quite comfortably on his own as he chases down another strong finish for the British team
Piastri has extended his lead over Norris to just under two seconds, but Verstappen is now four seconds adrift of second place now
All eyes on both McLarens to see how much of a gap they can pull on Verstappen until lap 25 when they will have to come in.
Everyone else, meanwhile, will have to pit by lap 32
We are racing again
The big loser in that sequence was Mercedes with Antonelli losing out to Sainz in the straight pit-stop race to slip to fifth, while the double-stacking for Russell behind him means he has slipped to eighth as well behind Hadjar
While it looks like a free pit-stop for Verstappen and co., the Pirelli-enforced 25-lap cap for tyres makes things a little more complex from a strategy perspective.
McLaren still have track position but Verstappen is a master of making tyre strategies work for him
McLaren are conspicuous in having not pitted under the safety car - everyone else has gotten a pit-stop out of the way behind them.
1- Piastri
2- Norris
3- Verstappen
4- Sainz
5- Antonelli
6- Alonso
7- Hadjar
8- Russell
9- Leclerc
10- Bearman
Hulkenberg attempts to pass Gasly around the outside of Turn 1, but the Alpine understeers into the rear of the Sauber and tips him into a spin
