Verstappen completes his title weekend with a victory in Qatar.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen celebrated his first victory as a triple Formula One world champion after dominating the Qatar Grand Prix on a steamy Sunday night.
The victory from pole position under the Lusail floodlights was the 26-year-old Red Bull driver's 14th in 17 races and 49th in his career. He earned his third consecutive title in Saturday's sprint.
Oscar Piastri, the 19-lap sprint winner from Australia, finished second, with McLaren teammate Lando Norris third in what became a three-stopper after Pirelli warned of the possibility of blowouts.
"It was a bit close for comfort I think in that last stint. But pace was OK. Another win, unbelievable," said Verstappen, who finished 4.8 seconds clear of Piastri.
The little margin flattered the Australian, with Verstappen never looking under duress and also setting the quickest lap.
The McLaren drivers were instructed to maintain position at the finish line, but Norris wasn't thrilled about it.
Others were on the verge of collapsing from the heat and humidity, while Verstappen appeared as though he had spent the evening in a sauna. While teammate Logan Sargeant suffered from severe dehydration, Alex Albon of Williams, who had been in the lead when the others pitted, was transported to the medical center to be treated for acute heat exposure.
Esteban Ocon of Alpine revealed that throughout the first few laps of the race, he was puking. Aston Martin's Lance Stroll claimed that at times he was "passing out in the car."
Even as the vehicles lined up on the grid, there was drama when Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, who ended Red Bull's perfect record with victory in Singapore last month, was ruled out due to a fuel system issue.
It continued just seconds after the race began, as Mercedes teammates George Russell and Lewis Hamilton collided at the first corner, with the latter accusing the younger Briton of attempting to take him out. Hamilton then calmed down and stated that he did not blame his teammate.
Russell, who started second and had four pitstops in all, climbed from last to fourth, with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc fifth and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso sixth, despite an off-track excursion and a painfully hot seat.
Alpine's Ocon finished seventh, with Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou eighth and ninth, respectively, and Red Bull's Sergio Perez relegated to tenth following a five-second post-race penalty for exceeding track limits three times.
Perez, Stroll, Alpine's Pierre Gasly, and Albon all received time penalties for multiple track limit violations. Stroll, Gasly, and Albon were all penalized twice for a total of 10 seconds.
For safety concerns, all drivers were limited to a maximum of 18 laps per set of tyres after Pirelli discovered kerb damage in sets used in Friday practice.
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