Oscar Piastri drove to a controlling victory in a thrilling Formula 1 Qatar Sprint which saw three safety car interventions.
Tyre choice was split throughout the grid, with the leading trio all fitted with the Medium tyres while many gambled on the Softs in search of an advantage in the early stages.
Piastri preserved his lead into Turn 1, but Lando Norris and Max Verstappen were both shuffled down the order in the opening exchanges.
George Russell and Carlos Sainz both had excellent launches off the grid, jumping to second and third respectively. Liam Lawson found himself beached in the gravel after contact with Logan Sargeant, bringing out a Safety Car.
Equipped with the Soft tyres, Russell capitalised upon the Safety Car restart with a lunge on Piastri to take control of the race.
Sargeant would have another moment, this time on his own, spinning off into the gravel. He too became beached, triggering another Safety Car.
The Soft compound appeared to fade rapidly as by Lap 11, Piastri had regained the lead, Verstappen had made his way into the top three and Norris too was starting to make ground on the Ferraris.
A three-way tangle between Esteban Ocon, Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez saw all three drivers retire with significant damage, resulting in a third Safety Car spell.
Piastri broke away at the restart, opening up a 2.5s gap to Verstappen by the time he found his way past the struggling Russell.
Piastri prevailed to secure a maiden victory in the series, albeit not in the main event. Likewise, Perez’s retirement saw Verstappen crowned World Champion for the third consecutive time.
Norris recovered to third as the Soft runners continued to fall, joining his McLaren team-mate in the top three.
Russell was the highest of the Soft finishers, followed by Hamilton on the Mediums.
Sainz headed Ferrari team-mate Leclerc across the line while the Williams of Alex Albon recovered to eighth to take the final point.
Update: Leclerc and Lance Stroll both received five second time penalties for exceeding track limits. The application of the penalty dropped Leclerc out of the points. Albon’s Sprint haul grows to two points, and Aston Martin’s Alonso also picks up a point after being promoted to eighth.
[motorsport_result id=’127937′]
