Race report and highlights from the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix: Max Verstappen storms to victory ahead of Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri in the action-packed Qatar Grand Prix amid three safety cars

Elsewhere, Colapinto’s team-mate Albon suffered a spin after being attacked by Stroll, but both were also able to stay in the race despite the Aston Martin having to make a pit stop. For some, however, the start was better: Perez improved from ninth to seventh, while Tsunoda made progress, moving from 14th to tenth.

With the safety car arriving just at the start of the fifth lap, Verstappen made a strong restart and retained the lead, while Piastri caught Leclerc in fourth and Lawson went off the track in Turn 1, dropping the RB to the back of the field in 18th . Alonso, meanwhile, fell into the clutches of Hamilton and Tsunoda, prompting the Spaniard to say his lack of straight-line speed was “concerning”.

There was further trouble for Aston Martin when Stroll pitted on lap 8 and appeared to pull the car out of traffic – just as he was handed a 10-second time penalty for his collision with Albon. This then prompted the Canadian to return to action, but the team’s problems were not over and Alonso was known to return to the track unsteadily.

The stewards were definitely busy as the next incident was a possible false start by Hamilton. Replays showed the Mercedes appearing to move early before stopping and then moving off again, with Hamilton heard remarking over the radio: “Sorry guys.” Stroll had since withdrawn from the race after serving that penalty ​​had.

While there was plenty of action across the field – including a heated battle between Magnussen and Tsunoda fighting for P9, a duel won by Haas – Verstappen remained in the lead by two seconds over Norris, while Piastri appeared to be closing in on a potential battle He beat Russell for third place, and the Ferraris of Leclerc and Sainz followed in fifth and sixth.