At the Qatar Formula 1 Grand Prix held over the weekend, Oscar Piastri —the most out-of-form of the three contenders for this year’s Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship—made a strong return to take pole position and victory in the sprint race, and then pole position for the main race. His more senior teammate Lando Norris—current leader in the standings—came third in the sprint race to make it an excellent start to the weekend for the McLaren team. The sprint race was also remarkable for the fact that Yuki Tsunoda outqualified his Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen for the first time, though he eventually finished behind the Dutch driver. George Russell of Mercedes put in a steady performance to qualify second and finish second.
Where it all went wrong for McLaren, and thus by implication Messrs. Piastri and Norris, was in the main race, when the team chose not to take a pitstop under an early safety car. The rest of the field pitted, thus effectively gaining net time on the two McLaren drivers. As many commentators have already said in the hours following the race, McLaren made a bewildering strategic decision that essentially gifted Mr. Verstappen with victory. After that first round of pitstops under the safety car, the rest of the field quickly caught up with the McLarens—as could only have been expected. Eventually, Mr. Piastri finished second behind Mr. Verstappen, and Mr. Norris finished fourth behind an excellent Carlos Sainz Jr. (Williams).
Given the decision not to pitstop under the safety car, the next expectation of McLaren was that the last stint would be of soft tyres (less durable, but much faster performance), to allow Messrs. Piastri and Norris the best opportunity to catch up and overtake their rivals. But no, the last stint was on hard tyres, just as everyone else was doing.
Mr. Piastri, in particular, was justifiably aggrieved, and was “speechless” when asked about his reaction in a post-race interview. He was clearly the in-form driver on the day, and in clearly the best car on the day. In another post-race interview, McLaren Team Principal Dr. Andrea Stella spoke very soberly and apologetically for his team’s decision-making.
As we head to the last race of the season, next weekend, defending champion Mr. Verstappen has made an unprecedented comeback from more than 100 points behind the lead to be only 12 points behind. Mr. Norris still leads, but not by much, and while his form is very good, it is his championship to lose. While Mr. Piastri has suffered a disqualification (Las Vegas) and then a hamstrung race (Qatar), and while there is no doubt that he is a talented and hard-working driver, I think it must be recognised that his poor form over several recent races is at least partly his responsibility. From that perspective, even speaking as a fellow Australian, I do not think there would be cause for any real complaint if he does not win this year’s World Drivers’ Championship.
With one week to go, and with McLaren bumbling in various ways throughout the season despite having produced the best car of the season, I think the moral victory must surely go to Mr. Verstappen even if he does not win the actual championship in the end. For much of the season, he has been driving a good but not great car. If he wins in the end, it will be well justified. If Mr. Norris wins the drivers’ championship, I also think it is well deserved. From what I have seen, he has steadied significantly as a driver this year, and he has been putting in excellent performances. In the unlikely occurrence that Mr. Piastri wins the drivers’ championship, it will in some ways be a moral reward for his exceptional performances in the first two thirds of the season.