F1 update – Qatar GP

Round 23 and the penultimate round of the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship was held at the Losail International Circuit in Doha, Qatar for the Qatar Grand Prix.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen benefitted from a strategy error from McLaren to claim his seventh win of the year heading McLaren’s Oscar Piastri who had to settle for second with Williams’s Carlos Sainz completing the podium in third.

Qatar GP – top 5:

• 1st: Max Verstappen – Red Bull
• 2nd: Oscar Piastri – McLaren
• 3rd: Carlos Sainz – Williams
• 4th Lando Norris – McLaren
• 5th: Andrea ‘Kimi’ Antonelli – Mercedes

Other highlights:

• Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly collided on lap 7 which put Hulkenberg out on the spot, The incident bought out the safety car.
• Haas’s Oliver Bearman would retire on lap 42 with gearbox problems.
• Racing Bulls’s Isack Hadjar would retire on lap 56 with a puncture, however he was classified in the final results as he completed 90% of the race distance.
• Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll would retire on lap 56 with too much damage to the car, however he was classified in the final results as he completed 90% of the race distance.

News:

• Red Bull have announced that Isack Hadjar will race for the team in 2026 alongside Max Verstappen whilst Hadjar’s seat at Racing Bulls in 2026 will be taken by British Formula 2 driver Arvid Lindblad.
• Aston Martin announced that Adrian Newey will take over as team principal in 2026.
• Thailand are looking at hosting an F1 Grand Prix in the future by announcing their project and a race circuit.
• Mercedes have announced that Gatorade, Sting and Doritos will be sponsors for the team starting from 2026.
• Alpine have announced the launch date of their 2026 car which is on 23rd January 2026 in Barcelona, Spain.

The next and final round of the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship will be held at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, Dubai for the Abu Dhabi where the drivers will be decided.

Here’s Aston and regular contributor Cameron Perkins with the latest from the world of Formula 1.