Formula 1, Qatar is still Verstappen's. Leclerc on the podium ahead of Piastri

The twenty-third round of the 2024 season was staged in Doha and it can only be described as crazy, messy, not particularly regular: on the other hand, the race director was recently 'torpedoed' and all sorts of things were seen. In the unwritten media they would say it was a really messy Sunday, of fluctuating quality due precisely to a strict and very objectionable sports direction. The result, however, is a deserved and almost undisturbed victory for Verstappen, who very quickly managed to gain the first position, from where, by the way, he thought he had to start thanks to yesterday's pole position, then relegated for driving a little too slowly in front of a direct rival.

But the four-time world champion was peremptory right from the start. He managed the start and restart from the safety car well: no less than three interruptions that overturned the strategies and expectations of the teams several times, with excellent disappointments such as Russell, who at one point even forgot that he no longer had a supply of the compound he considered ideal for finishing the 57 laps.

The main threat to Max's leadership, Lando Norris, had to suffer a 10-second penalty for speeding under a yellow flag. A serious mistake by the Englishman who, by not lifting his foot at the right moment, caused his team to lose precious points, putting enormous pressure on them for the final round in Abu Dhabi in a few days' time. And so onto the podium went Leclerc, ahead of an increasingly concrete, if late, Piastri. It is true that he won the Sprint race yesterday, but he too has been too erratic throughout the season, like Norris. In a week's time, the sums will be drawn and, considering that McLaren still seems to be the best single-seater since last summer, it will be clear whether, after losing the Drivers' World Championship, they will also lose the Constructors' to Ferrari.

However, during the crazy weekend in Qatar, yesterday's Sprint had already given Ferrari's residual dreams for the coveted classification in Maranello a lot to think about. With Piastri's victory and McLaren's rivals' points, the gap in the prestigious world championship had lengthened further. Moreover, a few hours later, a splendid qualifying by Verstappen (later relegated in favour of Russell) and both orange single-seaters better than the reds of Leclerc (fifth) and Sainz (seventh, behind Hamilton) further put the brakes on actors, supporters and bettors: the mission from arduous was becoming almost impossible. Instead, today, tooth and nail, they managed to postpone the crowning of the marques in the only classification still open.

It could also have been done better, but race mismanagement unfortunately led to one driver mistakenly shattering a mirror lost in the straight by a colleague as a result of a slow reaction to deflecting competitors into the pit lane. Inexcusable lightness that caused more than one puncture, including the excellent one by Sainz, who, doubly unlucky due to a delay in the mechanics' tyre change, blew his chance to put another Ferrari ahead of Norris and accumulate more useful points. They will try again at Abu Dhabi, a track where Leclerc has never won: getting to the top would be a real joy for the red fans, given that next to the track there is a big theme park whose prancing horse logo on the roof is so big that it is recognisable even from satellites.