Summary

  • Verstappen wins; Piastri 2nd; Sainz 3rd; Norris 4th

  • Title fight goes to final race in Abu Dhabi after Norris misses chance in Qatar

  • Norris loses place off startline to Verstappen

  • Safety car after crash for Hulkenberg

  • Get involved using form below

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Live Reporting

Lorraine McKenna

  1. 'Piastri in total control of the race'

    Lap 20/57

    Andrew Benson
    BBC F1 correspondent

    Oscar Piastri is making his life very comfortable at the moment, he's already got a 3.3 second lead over Lando Norris. That's more than enough for him to get in and out and do a pit-stop and not worry about Norris behind him.

    At the moment he's in total control of the race, Norris is going to have to work out what he can possibly do about that.

  2. Lap 19/57

    Alex Albon and Gabriel Bortoleto were both noted for yellow flag infringements but the pair have been cleared quickly by race control. Albon is 13th and Brazilian Bortoleto is 15th.

  3. Get Involved - your title race predictions

    Click the 'Get Involved' button to have your say

    This could now all hinge on the 4 McLaren pitstops.

    Laurent

    Everyone who stopped on Lap 7, apart from Hamilton, needs to use an alternative tyre, and the soft won't last 25 Laps!

    Mark

  4. Lap 18/57

    The gap out in front for Oscar Piastri is three seconds to his team-mate Lando Norris and just under eight seconds to third place Max Verstappen. The Australian is the quickest car out on track and is keeping things cool for now.

  5. Marc Priestley
    Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    We know that Max Verstappen has to stop on lap 32. That means he can't put a soft tyre on to go for a full 25 lap stint, he's going to have to choose a hard tyre to get to the end of the race.

    That's a slower tyre and McLaren will have the option to run the full 25 laps on the stint they are on, go for another 25 lap stint on another medium tyre, and then put a much fast soft tyre on at the end.

    Even if they fall behind Verstappen, they will have a dramatic tyre offset for the closing part of this race.

  6. Lap 17/57

    What would you do if you were a McLaren strategist in this race? The field looks fairly settled as we come to the end of lap 17, so the chance of another safety-car period doesn't look high at the moment. Their two drivers are still one-two in this grand prix but we're getting closer to the 25-lap mark.

  7. 'McLaren gambling that something happens'

    Marc Priestley
    Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    That safety car has really thrown things up and I think what is interesting about this is there's no way of knowing right now if McLaren have pulled a blinder or not because it will depend on what happens.

    They've got this flexibility with strategy that others don't have, but that's really gambling that something happens.

    It may well be that making one stop on lap 32 is the fastest way to get to the end because if there's no more safety cars, no more interference, then maybe Max Verstappen has played a blinder.

  8. Lap 16/57

    The safety car pit stops has lifted Charles Leclerc back into the top 10 in ninth place but George Russell has lost another spot and is now running in eighth. Oliver Bearman, who has been on a points scoring run of late, is now 10th.

  9. Lap 15/57

    Max Verstappen, who needs to finish ahead of Lando Norris to keep his hand in the championship bucket until Abu Dhabi next weekend, is seven seconds behind race leader Oscar Piastri in third place and right on the tail of second place Norris.

  10. Get Involved - 'Why didn't McLaren pit?'

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    Why didn’t McLaren split their strategy??? Crazy decision not to!

    Ian

    Big mistake by McLaren, I can see Max winning this race now, should've followed Max into the pits

    Jon

  11. Lap 14/57

    The fastest stopwatch is parked by Oscar Piastri's name but he and team-mate Lando Norris need to keep the pace at a high tempo to build enough of a gap for a decent stop. This could be a nervous one for McLaren.

  12. Get Involved - 'that could've been an own goal by McLaren'

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    This will be fascinating to watch play out. That could have been an own goal by McLaren, but equally it could be a masterstroke. If the tyre wear is high, then some of the field might need to pit more than once more anyway.

    Andrew

  13. Top five

    Lap 13/57

    1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

    2. Lando Norris (McLaren)

    3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

    4. Carlos Sainz (Williams)

    5. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)

    Oscar Piastri ahead of Lando NorrisGetty Images

  14. Lap 12/57

    Esteban Ocon has been noted for not serving his time penalty correctly, so looks like another slap is coming the Haas driver's way.

    Actually, carry on, Estie. You're all good this time.

    Oscar Piastri leads from team-mate Lando Norris but with the 25-lap maximum stint length on tyres on teh table, and the McLarens drivers not pitting, how will this race pan out for the two title rivals?

  15. 'Piastri got away well'

    Marc Priestley
    Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    That was another really good job from Oscar Piastri, he kept things nicely under control. The pressure on his shoulders must be immense but he got away well.

    Oscar PiastriGetty Images

  16. Team radio - Norris

    Engineer: "So Lando, the goal here now is really good pace until Lap 25. Basically everyone else will be stopping on Lap 32, we know that now."

    "Reminder get close."

  17. Go! Go! Go!

    Lap 11/57

    We're back racing in Qatar and Oscar Piastri goes early, catching out his rivals and leading the field from the restart. Lando Norris is now back into the second placed, after McLaren didn't pit during the safety-car period. Max Verstappen is third and Carlos Sainz is fourth.

    Medium tyres across the board now.

  18. 'McLaren racing against each other'

    Andrew Benson
    BBC F1 correspondent

    Confirmation that McLaren are racing against each other as well as against Max Verstappen.

  19. Safety car

    Lap 10/57

    The incident between Pierre Gasly and Nico Hulkenberg, who is out of this race, is going to be investigated. Esteban Ocon's time in the top three is over, as he comes into the pits and serves his five-second time penalty. The McLarens are out on their own now; the rest of the pack can make their next stop around lap 32.

    Safety car is ending. When will Oscar Piastri make his move?

    nico hulkenbergGetty Images

  20. Team radio - Norris to McLaren

    Norris: "We should have followed him [Verstappen] in no? If we knew the car in front was staying out."

    Engineer: "They have lost all of their flexibility for the remainder of the race."