Max Verstappen, who had just secured his fourth world title, won the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday. Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri joined the Dutchman on the podium, bringing the battle for the constructors’ championship between McLaren and Ferrari closer ahead of next weekend’s season finale in Abu Dhabi.

McLaren, which entered the race 30 points clear of second-place Ferrari, was hoping to win its first constructors’ championship since 1998 and needed to overtake Ferrari by 15 points on Sunday to win in Qatar.

But with Lando Norris finishing the day 10th after receiving a 10-second stop-and-go penalty, the gap between McLaren and Ferrari now stands at 21 points with one race to go on December 8. Ferrari must overtake McLaren by 22 points at the Yas Marina Circuit, winning its 17th constructors’ championship, the most points ever in Formula 1.

“Just beautiful, guys,” Verstappen said over the radio as he crossed the finish line. “What an incredible race, it was really fun!”

The Qatar GP got off to a chaotic start as a safety car went out early after several collisions. Franco Colapinto, Esteban Ocon and Nico Hülkenberg were involved in an incident at Turn 1, while Alex Albon and Lance Stroll had another moment. Stroll received a 10-second penalty, which he served, but the Aston Martin driver later withdrew from the race.

At the restart, Piastri managed to overtake Leclerc, an important moment for the constructors’ championship. By lap 19, Norris and Piastri were in second and fourth place, while Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were in fifth and sixth place. That would mean McLaren would only beat Ferrari by 12 points, assuming none of the four drivers secured the fastest lap.

Mercedes’ George Russell was the first frontrunner to pit and it was a very slow pit stop of seven seconds. McLaren decided to keep Piastri out and clean air helped him improve his pace.

But from lap 34 the race changed completely. Both Lewis Hamilton and Sainz suffered tire damage, triggering another safety car. Piastri had pitted just before the safety car, meaning he lost out to Leclerc, who pitted (along with the rest of the leaders) during the safety car period. Debris also had to be removed on this route, such as the broken mirror on the start/finish straight.

Verstappen was still in the lead when the safety car ended, Norris was second, Leclerc third, Piastri fourth and Sainz was seventh. Norris and Verstappen battled on the restart but the race didn’t stay at full speed. Hülkenberg landed in the gravel trap and Pérez reported a loss of drive before the restart. A third safety car was called. The restart held the same sequence, but Piastri reported seeing sparks coming from one of his tires and feeling a vibration.

What changed the constructors’ championship was Norris’ penalty. The stewards gave him a 10-second stop-and-go penalty for “failing to slow down under a yellow flag.”

This initially threw him out of the points, ruined the Brit’s race and put a damper on the battle between the designers. Norris recovered, scored points and secured the fastest lap, although not as big of a haul for his team as it once seemed.

Meanwhile, Hamilton drove too fast in the pit lane and received a drive-through penalty. All the chaos allowed the teams in midfield to score crucial points. Pierre Gasly helped Alpine fight for sixth place in the team standings with a fifth place finish, while Kevin Magnussen ended his day in ninth place. Zhou Guanyu scored Sauber’s first points of the year and finished eighth.

This is how the top 10 ended.

1. Max Verstappen
2. Charles Leclerc
3. Oscar Piastri
4. George Russell
5. Pierre Gasly
6. Carlos Sainz
7. Fernando Alonso
8. Zhou Guanyu
9. Kevin Magnussen
10. Lando Norris

Photo above: Giuseppe CACACE / AFP