F1 Qatar GP: Oscar Piastri wins hectic sprint race as Max Verstappen crowned F1 champion for third time
The McLaren driver had to🌠 fightback against a fast-starting George Russell, who made early progress with extra grip on his soft tyres, to claim his first victory in F1.
Verstappen recovered from ꦏa slow-start that saw him drop as low as fifth to claim second place and be crown𝓰ed a three-time world champion.
Lando Norris picked off Russell - whose soft tyres fell off&ꦓnbsp;a cliff - on the final lap to make it a McLaren 1-3 on the podium.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton recovered from a poor sprint shootout thatꦚ left him 12th on the grid as he took fifth.𒁃
Like Russღell, the soft-running Ferrari’s of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc faded in the closing stages as they dramatically slipped to sixth and seventh.
Alex Albon claimed the final point on offer in his Williams, ahead of Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin and Alpine’s Pi𝔉erre Gasly.
The 19-𝐆lap race was punctuated by three🧜 Safety Car periods.
The first was caused when Liam Lawson spun off on the opening lap, before the same fate befall the under-pressure Logan Sargeant three laps lat﷽er.&n꧒bsp;
A three-way collision that took out Sergio Perez, Nico Hulkenberg and Esteba🍃n Ocon resulted in thꩲe third and final Safety Car on Lap 11.
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