Sheikh Joaan Crowns Verstappen F1 Qatar Grand Prix Title

HE President of the Qatar Olympic Committee Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani crowned Dutch driver Max Verstappen as the winner of the Qatar Airways Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix 2024, the 23rd round of the world's biggest and most famous car racing championship, held under the lights at Lusail International Circuit in Doha over three days.

Verstappen, driving for Red Bull, claimed the title after completing the 57-lap, 306.66-kilometer race in a time of 1:31:05.323. The Dutch driver, who secured his fourth world title in the previous round in Las Vegas, USA, finished 6.031 seconds ahead of his nearest rival, Charles Leclerc of Monaco, driving for Ferrari. Australian Oscar Piastri, driving for McLaren, finished third, 6.819 seconds behind the leader.

British driver George Russell of Mercedes and French driver Pierre Gasly of Alpine completed the top five, trailing the leader by 14.104 seconds and 16.782 seconds, respectively.

This victory marks Verstappen's second win in the Qatar Grand Prix, following his triumph in the previous edition of the championship, which contributed to his third world title.

Verstappen delivered a stellar performance at Lusail International Circuit, celebrating his fourth consecutive world title in style with his ninth win out of 23 races this season, and the 63rd of his career in the World Championship.

Entering the main race of the Qatar Grand Prix having already secured his fourth consecutive world title in Las Vegas, Verstappen continued his dominance by securing pole position in the qualifiers, followed by his second consecutive win in Qatar and his ninth this season in the World Championship.

Verstappen finished ahead of Charles Leclerc of Ferrari and Oscar Piastri of McLaren, with Mercedes' George Russell in fourth place and Alpine's Pierre Gasly in fifth.

With his world title already secured from the previous round, Verstappen increased his total points to 429, leading the overall standings by a significant margin. Meanwhile, the battle for second place intensified before the final round between British driver Lando Norris (349 points) and Charles Leclerc (341 points), with just an 8-point difference between them.

The reigning four-time Formula 1 world champion, Max Verstappen, expressed his immense joy at winning the Qatar Grand Prix for the second consecutive year.

In a press statement following his crowning, Verstappen said he was extremely happy to be crowned again in Qatar at the Lusail International Circuit, praising it as an exceptional and fast track where the tires held up well, and he enjoyed the race.

He added that the race was strong and competitive among all drivers, noting that he initially faced some difficulties but managed a quick start, enabling him to maintain his speed on the track and secure the win.

Verstappen emphasized that he and his team put in significant effort over the three days and in all the Qatar Grand Prix races, asserting that their performance was worthy of the victory and celebration in Qatar once again.

Regarding the constructors' title race to be decided in the final round, Verstappen acknowledged that it would be extremely challenging among the top three teams - McLaren, Ferrari, and Red Bull - and stated that Red Bull would exert its utmost effort to clinch the title in the final round.

(QNA)