Formula 1: A gift of victory: Norris lets his teammate Piastri celebrate

In the very last few meters, Lando Norris gave his teammate Oscar Piastri victory in the final sprint race of this Formula 1 season. With the double success for McLaren, the Australian-British duo increased their chances of being crowned constructors’ world champions, possibly at the Qatar Grand Prix this Sunday (5 p.m. CET/Sky).

“We did our job, that was the main thing,” said Norris, who decided on his own initiative and against the team’s instructions to let Piastri pass as a thank you for his help in Norris’ sprint victory in Brazil.

Verstappen only finished eighth

George Russell from Mercedes came third in the 19-lap race. Only then did Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc take fourth and fifth place in the Ferrari. McLaren now has 623 points in the ranking, 30 more than Ferrari. Defending champion Red Bull is in third place with 556 points and now mathematically has no chance of winning the title. After his fourth world championship triumph last Sunday in Las Vegas, star driver Max Verstappen did not get past eighth place in the sprint behind Nico Hülkenberg in the Haas in seventh place. The qualification for the main race is still scheduled for today (7 p.m. CET/Sky).

This time Norris got off to a perfect start, with his teammate Piastri immediately attacking behind him. The Australian couldn’t get past Russell in the first corner, but he could in the second. A bit of teamwork should save the double success, Norris gave Piastri a bit of slipstream. Nevertheless, Russell repeatedly came dangerously close, and on one attempt Piastri closed the door hard.

Verstappen colleague duped in the pit lane

This time Verstappen was unable to take part in the fight for the podium or even his fifth victory in the sixth sprint of the season. At the start, the Dutchman fell from sixth to ninth place. “Oversteering is an understatement,” the 27-year-old radioed into the pits. He had already emphasized his chances of another victory: “We have no chance.”

Defending champion Red Bull was unable to collect decisive points for the constructors’ championship: teammate Sergio Pérez started from the pit lane because he was working on his Red Bull. The Mexican had once again experienced a personal disaster in sprint qualifying and was 16th in the first knockout phase . eliminated. While still on the approach to the track, Pérez was overtaken by the Argentinian Franco Colapinto. Red Bull is unlikely to get any better than third place in the team rankings this year.

If McLaren also wins the Qatar Grand Prix and Ferrari weakens, the traditional British team will be crowned team champions for the first time since 1998.