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Follow live F1 updates from round 23 at the Lusail International Circuit ahead of a key sprint qualifying session on Friday
Kieran JacksonFormula 1 CorrespondentFriday 28 November 2025 17:09 GMTComments
Close'I'm pretty used to it': Lando Norris ahead of Qatar GP with 2025 F1 title at stake
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F1 next heads to Qatar for the penultimate race of the 2025 F1 season - and the final sprint weekend of the year - with the drivers’ championship title race fully reignited following the dramatic end to the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Lando Norris, currently leading the drivers’ standings, thought he’d extended the gap on teammate Oscar Piastri thanks to a second-place finish in Vegas, only for both McLaren cars to be disqualified for excessive skid plank wear on both cars, with the minimum thickness falling below the 9mm threshold allowed.
That means Max Verstappen, who triumphed in Vegas, has closed the deficit on Norris to just 24 points and will be targeting a fifth world title over the final two races of the year. Piastri and Verstappen are level on points behind Norris, and with 33 points up for grabs in Lusail this weekend, the season could yet face another dramatic twist.
Norris is still the favourite to win the title and could seal the title, sprint race dependent, with a victory in the grand prix on Sunday. Two second-place finishes in Qatar and Abu Dhabi would also be enough for the Briton, but anything less opens the door for Verstappen and teammate Piastri.
Follow live coverage of the Qatar Grand Prix with The Independent
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F1 QATAR GRAND PRIX - LATEST UPDATES
- The penultimate round of the 2025 season takes place this weekend in Qatar
- Sprint qualifying is at 5:30pm (GMT) on Friday
- Lando Norris leads the world championship by 24 points to Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri
- Oscar Piastri quickest in FP1; Norris 2nd; Verstappen 6th
- PREVIEW: How Max Verstappen clawed back 104-point deficit in F1 title race over just seven races
Max Verstappen on going for a fifth title:
“Five is better than four, but it won’t change my life. But we are in this fight still because of other people’s failures - not because what we did.
We maximised pretty much all races, but if we had had the car they had, the championship would have been over a long time ago.”
Max Verstappen speaks to the media ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix (David Davies/PA) (PA Wire)Kieran Jackson28 November 2025 17:09How many points are on offer in the sprint race?
P1 - Eight points
P2 - Seven points
P3 - Six points
P4 - Five points
P5 - four points
P6 - three points
P7 - two points
P8 - one point
Kieran Jackson28 November 2025 17:05Max Verstappen: F1 Championship would easily be over if I had Lando Norris’ car
Asked what would have happened this season if he was driving Norris’ McLaren, Verstappen replied without hesitation and wearing a broad smile: “We wouldn’t be talking about a championship.
“It would already have been won, easily. I mean they won the constructors’ championship so early that yeah… you can fill it in yourself.”
Verstappen said he would already have won the title in Norris’ car (David Davies/PA) (PA Wire)Kieran Jackson28 November 2025 16:55‘The answer is no’: Oscar Piastri reveals McLaren talks over Lando Norris favouritism
Asked whether McLaren had talked about favouring Norris, Piastri replied on Thursday: “We’ve had a very brief discussion and the answer is no. I’m still equal on points with Max.
“I’ve got a decent shot of still winning it if things go my way. That’s how we play it.”
More below:
‘The answer is no’: Oscar Piastri reveals McLaren talks over Lando Norris favouritism
Piastri, level on points with Max Verstappen, trails Norris by 24 points, but McLaren will not alter their approachKieran Jackson28 November 2025 16:45Why were Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri disqualified from the Las Vegas Grand Prix?
Norris and Piastri were punished for an illegal post-race car, with the thickness of the plank, which is underneath the car, below the required 9mm thickness as per the FIA regulations.
The skid wear is monitored so teams don’t run their cars too low to the ground for a performance benefit.
The stewards’ verdict revealed that the plank-wear was 0.12mm over the limit for Norris’s car and 0.26mm for Piastri’s car. McLaren argued that unexpected porpoising, when the car bounces violently up and down, limited testing opportunities due to rain on Thursday night and shortened practice sessions in Vegas gave them mitigating circumstances.
However, the FIA acknowledged there was no room in the regulations or in past decisions for anything other than a disqualification verdict.
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Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri (Getty Images)Kieran Jackson28 November 2025 16:30Lewis Hamilton told to ‘calm down’ by Ferrari boss after criticising his own performance in Las Vegas GP
"Lewis was there in practice and the pace was good, but starting from 20th is not the best way to have good results," he explained.
"For now, we have to calm down. To jump out of the car and make the first comments, it is always a bit too much."
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has urged Lewis Hamilton to ‘calm down’ (David Davies/PA) (PA Wire)Kieran Jackson28 November 2025 16:15Mercedes boss Toto Wolff ahead of Qatar GP:
“Two to go. We carry a healthy advantage for P2 in the Constructors' to Qatar but are taking nothing for granted. Whilst we gained points on our nearest rivals in Las Vegas, the weekend also showed how quickly things can change.
“As a team we executed well and are focused on doing so again in both Doha and Abu Dhabi. We have the added challenge of the Sprint format this weekend and an imposed usage limit on the tyres too. Making a solid start in FP1, and having a good base to build from, will be key.
“We expect our competitors to be quick; warm conditions and high-speed corners haven't been our strength this year. We're focused on our process though and will look to maximise the package we have.”
Toto Wolff (AP)Kieran Jackson28 November 2025 16:00F1 world champion backs Max Verstappen to win title after McLaren disqualifications
Jacques Villeneuve has backed Max Verstappen to win this year’s F1 world championship after the dramatic events following the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Saturday night.
Championship leader Lando Norris had one hand on the trophy after extending his lead to 30 points over Oscar Piastri with a second-place finish in Vegas, with race winner Verstappen 42 points off the Briton.
Yet the shock double disqualification of both McLaren cars for excessive skid plank wear has thrust Verstappen back into the fight. With two rounds to go and 58 points on the table, Verstappen is now level on points with Piastri – a driver he trailed by 104 points at the start of September – and 24 behind Norris.
Full quotes below:
F1 world champion backs Max Verstappen to win title after McLaren disqualifications
Verstappen, chasing a fifth consecutive championship, now only trails Lando Norris by 24 pointsKieran Jackson28 November 2025 15:45Mick Schumacher confirms American career switch after latest F1 snub
Mick Schumacher has confirmed his switch to IndyCar for the 2026 season, having failed to carve a route back into Formula One.
The German driver, son of seven-time F1 world champion Michael Schumacher, had two seasons at Haas in 2021-2022 before losing his seat following a number of costly crashes.
Schumacher, 26, has competed for Alpine in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) this year – including at the 24 Hours of Le Mans race – but has made no secret of his desire to find a way back into F1.
However, having been overlooked for a seat at new team Cadillac for 2026, Schumacher has turned his attention stateside and will race for the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team (RLL) next year in IndyCar, after impressing in testing last month.
Mick Schumacher (Getty Images)Kieran Jackson28 November 2025 15:30Start times this weekend in Qatar:
All times GMT
Friday 28 November
- Sprint Qualifying: 5.30pm
Saturday 29 November
- Sprint Race: 2pm
- Qualifying: 6pm
Sunday 30 November
- Race: 4pm
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