Lewis Hamilton had no idea that Max Verstappen was the winner of the Qatar Grand Prix until he was informed in the media pen on Sunday. The Ferrari racer thought that it was Oscar Piastri, who started on pole position, who had taken the chequered flag first before he was corrected by the written media.
Hamilton himself finished outside of the points after qualifying at the back end of the grid. The legendary Brit has suffered three consecutive Q1 eliminations in Las Vegas and across the two qualifying sessions in Qatar, and is counting down the days until the winter break.
While Ferrari’s season is petering out with a whimper, the title race is only getting more exciting. Heading into the season finale in Abu Dhabi this weekend, Lando Norris, Verstappen and Piastri can all still claim the crown.
Informed of the championship picture after the race in Qatar, Hamilton replied: “So, Oscar’s how far behind?” before adding: “How’s Max 12 behind now?” When he was told the full results, the Brit replied: “Max won? Oh s***, I didn’t know, I had no idea! Holy s***! Wow! I thought Piastri won… Well, that’s exciting! It goes right to the last… to the wire.”
Asked for his thoughts on Verstappen’s impressive World Championship comeback, Hamilton gave a classy response, pointing out the strong performances from his former arch-rival during the ground effect era.
“We all know Max does a great job,” the seven-time world champion explained. “I think he’s got a phenomenal team behind him, there’s no denying that the best car really over the last four years, and maybe less so the beginning of this year. But they somehow came back. He’s obviously got a great car, but he does an amazing job with it. So fair play to him.”
Verstappen heads into the final race of the year with an unexpected chance to win his fifth consecutive crown – a feat that has only ever been achieved by seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher.
To do so, he will need to eliminate a 12-point deficit to Norris, although with all three of the championship contenders tied on seven Grand Prix victories, finishing first will give him the tiebreaker to aid his cause. In this timeline, Norris would need to finish third at worst to win the crown.
Understanding that he is still reliant on factors outside of his control, Verstappen is cutting a calm figure in the F1 paddock. “I’m a lot more relaxed now,” he said in Qatar. “I mean, I know that I’m 12 points down. I go in there with just positive energy. I try everything I can.
“But at the same time, if I don’t win it, I still know that I had an amazing season. So, it doesn’t really matter. It takes a lot of the pressure off. I’m just out there having a good time like I had today. I also started today with ‘we’ll see how it goes’. I know that when I sit in the car, I always try to maximise everything I can.
“And that’s what I’ll try to do in Abu Dhabi, but at the same time, I also know that we need to rely on probably some external factors to have a go at it. But a race like today shows that when you think it’s going to be boring and straightforward, it’s not. So, I’m hoping Abu Dhabi is going to be similar.”
