Defending champion Max Verstappen boosted his chances of a fifth consecutive Formula One crown by capturing the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday.

The Dutchman sliced his deficit behind championship leader Lando Norris by more than half before next weekend’s final race in Abu Dhabi. He now trails the British driver by 12 points.

Verstappen finished in 1:24.38.241, nearly eight seconds ahead of Norris’ McLaren’s teammate Oscar Piastri. Carlos Sainz (Williams) finished third, while Norris placed fourth.

“It’s all possible now!” Verstappen said. “We will see. I don’t worry about it too much.”

Verstappen was aided by an early error from the McLaren team. Just seven laps into the race, Nico Hulkenberg and Pierre Gasly clashed on Turn 1. With the field slowed, all of the drivers, except for Piastri and Norris, went to the pits and needed only one additional required stop. The McLaren duo had to pit twice after the race resumed on the 10th lap.

Red Bull’s Verstappen got off to a blazing start, passing Norris on the first turn of the race and stalked Piastri, who held the pole, before the clash.

Piastri recovered in a strong car to finish second, but Norris could not get by Sainz. Norris did manage to pass Kimi Antonelli on the penultimate lap, salvaging a critical two points.

Antonelli’s Mercedes teammate, George Russell, finished sixth.

“I tried my best but it wasn’t to be tonight, unfortunately,” said Piastri, who is 16 points behind his teammate. “I think in hindsight it’s pretty obvious what we would have done, but I’m sure we’ll discuss it as a team.”

If Norris finishes in the top three at Abu Dhabi, he will win his first World Drivers’ Championship.

“Obviously it’s not our greatest day, not our greatest weekend,” Norris said. “But I don’t know if anyone saw the run of results I had before that, were great. So I put myself in this position (at the top of the championship).

“I take it on the chin, we’ll take it on the chin, and we’ll see what we can do next weekend.”

–Field Level Media