McLaren wastes, Verstappen capitalises: the Formula 1 world championship will be decided in Abu Dhabi

However, luck was on his side in Qatar: the first real jolt came on lap seven and it was all to the benefit of the four-time champion. Pierre Gasly finishes wide, damages the bottom of the Alpine and then rejoins the track badly. At the same juncture Nico Hülkenberg, who had been battling with Leclerc just before, suffers a sudden failure of his rear tyre: for the German, the wheel completely splits and the Sauber ends up against the barriers. For Gasly the tyre bursts, for Hülkenberg the car is unrideable. It's inevitable: red flag.

The neutralisation comes at a crucial time for the strategies. After just seven laps on a first compound, there are fifty to go. Pirelli had indicated a two-stop grand prix with stints of around twenty-five laps as optimal: those who had started on softs - like Hamilton and Hülkenberg - paradoxically find themselves at an advantage from the technical break. Conversely, those who had set the race on medium must rethink everything, approaching an alternative plan with medium and hard, barring further unforeseen events.

In the chaos of the moment a surprising decision emerges: Verstappen comes into the pits before the break, effectively setting up a two-pit stop strategy as assumed by the tyre mechanic. Moreover, the red flag wipes out all references and puts everything back into play.

The restart on lap 10 recomposed the group in a configuration favourable to those who had preserved their tyres: Verstappen, despite some balancing and understeer problems complained of on the radio, handled the middle phase up to the first lap of pit stops with great coolness. The Red Bull driver pitted on lap thirty-three (exiting in third position behind Norris and Piastri), a choice which - combined with the temporary advantage after Piastri's pit stop on lap twenty-five - allowed him to retake the lead without having to force more than necessary in the closing stages.

McLaren forced their hand with an early stop on Piastri's second pit stop (lap 43): a conservative choice that was meant to defend the gap on Verstappen but which, in hindsight, limited his ability to attack in the finale. Norris's second pit stop, recalled immediately after Piastri, was not textbook, indeed, the mechanics will have to do mea culpa: they paid a few tenths more than the stop made by his partner, compromising the final assault on Verstappen. The pit-stop times and the traffic on re-entry proved to be very decisive elements at the finish line.

Talking about the final stages, it is worth highlighting two technical moments that affected the classification: on lap thirty Piastri overtook Antonelli after taking advantage of the great slipstream on the sprint, while on the penultimate lap Lando Norris managed to overtake Kimi again for fourth position - an action that took two precious points away from the young Mercedes and gave them to Norris. Points that in Abu Dhabi could be 'heavy' to the detriment of Verstappen's incredible comeback. These on-track manoeuvres, and tyre management in the final stint, made the difference between a theoretical victory for Piastri and Verstappen's concrete chance of closing the gap to the championship.

On the timekeeping front, Verstappen comfortably controlled the final stages. His victory at Losail is 'certifiable' as a managed domination, earning him the 70th career success and, above all, the concrete mathematical possibility of contending for the title at Abu Dhabi. Norris, although fourth, has seen his safety margin in the standings reduced: with today's result, the championship remains wide open and will be presented at Yas Marina as a three-way duel.

Ferrari experiences another day to forget: the weekend in Qatar was marked by obvious fundamental limitations in the set-up of the SF-25. Charles Leclerc had already shown signs of difficulty on Saturday, justifying the fact that the team was "struggling once again" to find a competitive set-up; his spin in qualifying and general lack of pace confirmed that the problem was not episodic but systemic on the car's behaviour between fast corners and changes of direction. Lewis Hamilton in turn paid for a dull weekend, with finishes far from the points zone. In summary: unstable set-up, poor grip and the difficulty in getting the tyres to work at the correct temperature prevented Ferrari from being competitive or taking strategic risks that could change the fate of the weekend.

Leonardo Fornaroli won the Formula 2 world title today with the concreteness expected of a champion: second place in the Feature Race at Losail was enough to close the accounts with one round to spare. Fornaroli, 20 years old, thus climbs onto the international stage after a season that has seen him accumulate consistency and regularity, inheriting the wake of the great talents who have moved from F2 to F1. Like him, winner in two consecutive years in Formula 3 and Formula 2, only Russell and Piastri. Like him, as the top Italian in the second series of open-wheel motorsport, only Giorgio Pantano in 2008 and Davide Valsecchi in 2012. Compared to the latter, however, he also inherits the 'misfortune' of not yet being able to catch a glimpse of a Formula 1 seat on victory day. Yet only a year ago Antonelli had already signed for Mercedes despite a much lower finishing position.

Fornaroli therefore becomes one of the hottest names in the upcoming rookie class, but at the moment there are no public indications of an immediate link with an F1 team: the seat market remains crowded and in the last twelve months there have been as many as six rookies to arrive in the top series. The young champion will therefore have to go in search of concrete support or, at least, a role as a reserve driver. His triumph is, in any case, one of the most significant results of the year for Italian motorsport, along with the Fia Wec World Championship victory for the Ferrari 499P and Antonelli's first podiums in Formula 1 with Mercedes in Canada, Brazil and the United States of America.