Formula One: Lewis Hamilton wins Qatar Grand Prix from pole to further cut Max Verstappen’s F1 lead
- Back-to-back wins for the defending and seven-time champion Hamilton in Brazil and Qatar have moved him within eight points with two races left
- Hamilton claimed his seventh season win and 102nd overall ahead of Verstappen on the floodlit Losail International Circuit course
Britain’s Lewis Hamilton claimed an emphatic victory from pole at the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday while rival Max Verstappen recovered well from a grid penalty to finish second but saw his Formula One championship lead further shrink.
Back-to-back wins for the defending and seven-time champion Hamilton in Brazil and Qatar have moved him within eight points with two races left as he said “Let's keep pushing, we can do this” via team radio.
Hamilton claimed his seventh season win and 102nd overall ahead of Belgian-Dutch driver Verstappen on the floodlit Losail International Circuit course where his Mercedes had already been superior over Verstappen’s Red Bull in qualifying. Ex-champion Fernando Alonso was third for Alpine for his first podium since the Hungary race in 2014.
Verstappen was hit with a five-place grid penalty earlier on Sunday and Finland’s Valtteri Bottas lost three just before the start as stewards ruled both had ignored yellow flags in qualifying – dropping Verstappen from second to seventh and Bottas, who did not finish, from third to sixth.