2024 F1 Round 23 Qatar GP: Verstappen wins, Leclerc second, Norris penalised to 10th as Zhou takes eighth for Sauber's first points

The 2024 F1 Round 23 Qatar Grand Prix concluded at Lusail International Circuit in the early hours of December 2, Beijing time. In a chaotic 57-lap night race marked by collisions and controversial penalties, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen started second and powered past George Russell on the inside of Turn 1 to take the lead. He led from there to win in 1:31:05.323, finishing 6.031 seconds ahead of runner-up Charles Leclerc. Oscar Piastri took third to secure a podium finish for McLaren.

There was drama immediately at the start. Lewis Hamilton received a five-second penalty for a false start, while Nico Hülkenberg, the only driver starting on hard tyres, slid at Turn 1 and triggered a three-car collision. Esteban Ocon and Franco Colapinto both retired, bringing out the first Safety Car. Alexander Albon and Lance Stroll then made contact, with Stroll receiving a 10-second penalty. To avoid carrying the penalty into the next round, his team had him serve it during a pit stop before announcing his retirement shortly afterwards. In the middle part of the race, a wing mirror fell from Albon’s car onto the main straight. Race control did not immediately arrange for it to be cleared, and Valtteri Bottas subsequently ran over it, scattering debris across the track. Hamilton and Carlos Sainz both suffered punctures, and the second Safety Car was then deployed. Sergio Pérez and Hülkenberg retired on laps 38 and 39 respectively, taking the total number of non-finishers to five.

There was no shortage of drama behind the leaders either. Russell received a five-second post-race penalty for a Safety Car infringement but retained fourth thanks to his margin over the next car. Hamilton was penalised twice and finished 12th. Pierre Gasly took fifth to strengthen Alpine’s hold on sixth in the constructors’ standings, while Sainz recovered strongly from his puncture to finish sixth, ahead of Fernando Alonso in seventh. Zhou Guanyu crossed the line eighth, earning Sauber its first four points of the season and being voted Driver of the Day. With 13 laps remaining, Norris was handed a 10-second stop-and-go penalty for failing to slow sufficiently under yellow flags, dropping him from the fight for victory to 10th. Leclerc’s second place allowed Ferrari to cut its deficit to McLaren to 21 points, keeping the constructors’ title fight alive until the Abu Dhabi finale.

RB endured a difficult night. Yuki Tsunoda gained several places on the opening lap to reach 10th, then passed Alonso at the lap-five restart to move into ninth. But the VCARB 01’s race pace was 1.5 to two seconds per lap slower than its rivals, and from lap 10 he was passed in turn by Kevin Magnussen, Gasly, Alonso, Zhou and Bottas before finishing 13th. Liam Lawson lost control, spun and made contact while attempting an inside move on Bottas at the first restart. He received a 10-second penalty and finished 14th. Norris set the race’s fastest lap, a 1:22.384, while the two RB cars were at the bottom of the fastest-lap rankings. The season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix would take place one week later, with McLaren and Ferrari set to decide the constructors’ championship there.