F1: Max Verstappen's win in Qatar means he'll race Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri for the title in Abu Dhabi

Three drivers will race for the 2025 Formula 1 title in Abu Dhabi.

Max Verstappen won the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday ahead of Oscar Piastri in second and Lando Norris in fourth. With Verstappen scoring 25 points for the win, Piastri getting 18 for second and Norris earning 12 for fourth, Norris leads Verstappen by 12 points and Piastri by 16 points heading into the final race of the season.

Verstappen started third but moved to second on the opening lap ahead of Norris and capitalized on an early safety car. Pierre Gasly crashed into Nico Hulkenberg on lap 7 in Turn 1. With Pirelli mandating each team pit twice over the course of the 57-lap race and that tires could not be run longer than 25 laps, the timing of the crash opened the first pit window for the entire field.

Verstappen — and nearly everyone else in the field — took advantage of the safety car to pit. The McLarens of Piastri and Norris didn’t. And that cost them a shot at the race.

The race went caution-free the rest of the way, meaning that Norris and Piastri had to pit twice under green while Verstappen and the rest of the field only had to pit once. The loss of track position on the second stop put the McLarens nowhere near Verstappen at the front, as Carlos Sainz held on to finish third.