Winners and Losers from the 2025 F1 Qatar Grand Prix

The 2025 Qatar Grand Prix, a race that could have sealed the F1 world championship, instead left McLaren grappling with strategic errors and ensuring a nail-biting season finale. While Max Verstappen continues his relentless march towards a historic fifth title, other teams experienced significant shifts in their championship battles.

Why it matters:

The Qatar Grand Prix was pivotal, not for deciding the championship, but for its dramatic impact on McLaren's title aspirations and the constructors' standings battles. The strategic misstep by McLaren has set the stage for a tense final race, where championship dreams could be made or broken. Meanwhile, teams like Aston Martin and Racing Bulls saw their fortunes fluctuate significantly, highlighting the intense competition for every championship point.

The Details:

• McLaren's Costly Error: Despite holding a strong position with a potential 1-2 finish, McLaren's strategy call led to a 2-3 finish, guaranteeing a stressful final week and the possibility of losing the drivers' title they once seemed assured of. This echoes a past failure in 2007, reminding the team of the high stakes.
• Max Verstappen's Dominance: Verstappen, already playing with a substantial points advantage, further extended his lead, now just one McLaren puncture or power unit issue away from an incredible fifth title. His pace was exceptional, easily rebuffing any attempts by McLaren to recover from their strategic blunder.
• Isack Hadjar's Frustration: Hadjar's promising weekend ended in disaster due to a puncture caused by a front wing endplate issue. Despite informing his team, the problem wasn't addressed, leading to an expletive-laden exchange with his race engineer and a non-finish. This incident leaves Racing Bulls vulnerable in the constructors' championship.
• Carlos Sainz's Resurgence: Sainz secured a commendable third place, quadrupling his points in the last ten races. This strong performance has put him in contention for eighth in the drivers' standings and solidified Williams's fifth place in the constructors' championship, demonstrating his value after the summer break.
• Nico Hulkenberg's Misfortune: Hulkenberg's bid for ninth place ended in a collision with Pierre Gasly, resulting in a DNF. This incident left Sauber in a precarious ninth place in the constructors' standings, with only a 12-point gap to Aston Martin and five to Haas.
• Aston Martin's Leap: Fernando Alonso's strong performance, securing two seventh-place finishes, propelled Aston Martin back to seventh in the constructors' standings. This surge puts them within 12 points of Racing Bulls, making a late-season climb to sixth a realistic, albeit challenging, possibility.
• Ferrari's Continued Struggles: Ferrari endured another challenging weekend, finishing eighth and twelfth. This result officially relegated them to fourth in the constructors' championship, highlighting a season of woes and reinforcing their earlier decision to shift focus entirely to the 2026 car.
• Liam Lawson's Pivotal Points: Lawson's ninth-place finish secured two crucial points for Racing Bulls after Hadjar's puncture. This second points finish in three races is invaluable for Lawson, especially as Red Bull evaluates drivers for its 2026 lineup. He outperformed Yuki Tsunoda in the race, making a strong case for his future.
• Alpine's Last-Place Lock: Alpine's poor performance, finishing 14th and 16th, solidified their last-place position in the constructors' standings. This marks their worst championship finish since 1985, capping off a disappointing season.
• Ollie Bearman's Heartbreak: Bearman's promising run, which saw him in points contention early on, was undone by a botched pitstop and a subsequent 10-second penalty. This costly error by Haas resulted in a DNF and dropped the team to eighth in the constructors' standings, behind Aston Martin.

What's next:

With the championship still technically open, the season finale in Abu Dhabi promises high drama, particularly for McLaren and their drivers' title hopes. The battles for constructor positions, especially between Racing Bulls, Aston Martin, and Haas, will also be intensely fought. For Ferrari, Alpine, and Sauber, the focus now shifts to the 2026 regulations, hoping their early development efforts will pay off.