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Max Verstappen shared his opinion on McLaren's peculiar strategy at the Qatar Grand Prix, which meant that both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris were left out on track during the early race safety car period, while all other drivers pitted. The Dutchman explained that he thought the Papaya team made an "interesting move" at the moment.
Max Verstappen can thank the McLaren pit wall for his seventh win of the 2025 season in Qatar on Sunday. Their gamble of leaving Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris out when the safety car came on Lap 7 essentially threw away the race win.
18 drivers pitted behind the safety car as it was perfectly timed from a strategy point of view, thanks to Pirelli's 25-lap limit on the tires for the event in Lusail. The McLaren boys were the only two to stay out, a decision that eventually cost them a strong result.
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In the post-race interview, Verstappen shared his opinion on this alternative strategy by the Woking-based outfit, as he said:
"I was like, 'that’s an interesting move'. Of course then, we had a little bit of a gap but still we needed to keep the tires alive for 25 laps as well, the wear is very high around here. But luckily it all worked out."
Oscar Piastri started from pole, held the lead at lights out, and began pulling away in the early laps. Lando Norris dropped a position to Max Verstappen but was comfortable enough in P3 behind the Dutchman.
But McLaren’s safety car strategy flipped the race, allowing Verstappen to take the lead once Piastri and Norris finally stopped. They then had too much to recover in the final stint, with Piastri finishing second and Norris limited to P4. This now means Verstappen has overtaken Piastri in the drivers' standings and is only 12 points behind Norris going into the season finale at Abu Dhabi.
Max Verstappen reflects on "incredible race" at the Qatar GP
Max Verstappen was visibly delighted after winning the Qatar GP and said it was an important victory in a weekend that had looked difficult for him and Red Bull up until the race itself.
Speaking in the post-race interview, Verstappen shared his immediate thoughts and credited his team for executing the right strategy.
"An incredible race for us, we made the right call to box under that safety car. Super happy to win here, we stay in the fight until the end. Yeah, incredible," said Verstappen.
"For us it was a very strong race on a weekend where I think it was a little bit tough. But yeah, we still won the race and that was the most important thing," he added.
Going into Abu Dhabi, Lando Norris still holds the advantage with a 12-point lead over Max Verstappen. But the reigning world champion only needs a repeat of the results from Qatar to secure what would be a record-equalling fifth consecutive drivers' title.
Hence, Verstappen’s hopes of securing the 2025 drivers’ title are well and truly alive heading into the final round of the season, a remarkable turnaround from how bleak things looked after the mid-season break.
Oscar Piastri now sits third in the standings but remains in the fight, sitting 16 points behind his teammate going into the final race.
