The 2025 Qatar GP Did Not Decide the Championship. It Set It Free.

From the moment the lights went out until the chequered flag was waved, the 2025 Qatar Grand Prix felt tense in a cinematic and butterflies in the deeply pitted stomach with that eerie feeling that one is watching history being written in real time. And history it was - a genuine three-way fight between Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris, and Max Verstappen, all three of whom qualified pole position, P2, and P3. 

Here’s the thing: Qatar was almost the end. Lando Norris was expected to seal his first world title with a clean podium finish. What we got instead was Oscar Piastri in pole position, a Max Verstappen win, and Norris finishing in fourth place. The championship narrative could have been said and done but alas, neither Verstappen nor Piastri are drivers that ever backed down from a fight. Now that the championship has dragged into the final round, this is no longer Lando’s title with a pretty little bow to tie everything up. 

Honestly, I think this is refreshing. In recent years, we’ve lived in an era defined by a single dominant driver which made seasons increasingly predictable. Even two-way fights can begin to feel repetitive after a while.  A three-way fight is rare, refreshing, and exactly the kind of chaos that the sport needed. 

And the best part in all of this? Each driver has a plausible route to the title: 

• Lando Norris, at 408 points, needs a podium finish to seize the title, but the cushy buffer he had before is now gone. One mistake, one awkward pit window, one bad strategy call, one DNF, and it is over. A race win, however, would do the trick. 

• Max Verstappen, at 396 points, can win the championship by finishing in first place, or at least ahead of Norris. Given his propensity for thriving under pressure, this task is a no-brainer for him. 

• Oscar Piastri, at 392 points, has the narrowest path ahead of him - he has to win the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. If he can maintain his iconic icy, straightforward, no-nonsense demeanor, he’ll be able to thrive. 

So, here we are: one race left, three contenders, and no guarantees. Qatar may not have crowned a champion, but it sure cracked the story wide open. Abu Dhabi will be the race to write the ending, which will be anyone’s guess. 

I, for one, have no interest in predicting a winner. It’ll be more interesting to be surprised.