McLaren, which participated in the F1 sprint race at the Qatar Grand Prix, was hoping for a one-two result to inch closer to the constructors' championship.
Oscar Piastri was first, followed by Lando Norris, who closed out the McLaren front row.
Norris, who has come under criticism for his inability to maintain the lead from pole position, did everything necessary in the opening laps to maintain his lead over George Russell at the start. Directly behind him, teammate Oscar Piastri made an incredible move on Russell into Turn 3, passing the Mercedes driver and giving McLaren an early one-two.
However, Russell continued to put pressure on Piastri, shaping the McLaren driver's movements on the fourth lap. Although he was unable to complete the overtake, his pace gave those on the McLaren pit wall something to think about for the next few laps. Norris eased his pace at the front, pulled Piastri into the lead within a second, and created a DRS train to pull Piastri onto the track, attempting to fend off the Mercedes driver.
“We're trying to give Oscar a DRS every lap,” Norris informed his team over the radio.
On lap 13, future teammates Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton raced each other early on the lap, with Leclerc eventually overtaking his future teammate for fifth place, giving fans a preview of 2025. I could taste it.
Russell charged Piastri again at the start of lap 14, closing in on the inside at Turn 1, but Piastri kept his position by slamming the Mercedes' door. Russell complained on the radio that Piastri's defensive form was “retarded”, but race officials took no action.
With four laps to go, Norris noticed that his front tires were starting to wear down and called to “rescue” Piastri from the pit wall and bring him back within DRS to protect him from Russell.
On the final lap, Russell saw Piastri again on the inside of Turn 1, but Piastri slammed the door again and held onto second place. Just before the start/finish line, Norris slid sideways to give Piastri the win, taking second place and achieving the one-two finish McLaren had hoped for.
After the race, Norris said trackside: “We scored a one-two. That was our goal. We got the most points.”
“To be honest, defense was important throughout the race,” admitted Piastri after the race. “I’m happy to have a one-two with McLaren.”
The move was likely payback from Norris, who won the F1 sprint race in Sao Paulo when Piastri moved to the side and gave Norris an extra point. At that moment in the season, Norris was still chasing Max Verstappen for the drivers' championship.
But with the title won and dusted, McLaren's focus is on the constructors' title. A one-two finish was important today. With 15 points and other results, McLaren maintains a 30-point lead over Ferrari and 67 points over Red Bull in the title race.
McLaren needs to have a 45-point lead over each team at the end of this weekend to win the title.
Russell finished third behind Norris, with the Ferrari duo of Carlos Sainz Jr. and Charles Leclerc finishing fourth and fifth respectively. Lewis Hamilton was sixth, with Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg putting in a strong performance to take seventh, securing two important points for the team in the battle for sixth place.
Max Verstappen took the final points position, finishing 8th.
