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New four-time world champion Max Verstappen will turn his attention from the drivers’ title race to the teams’ competition this weekend when he leads Red Bull’s unlikely bid to retain its crown at the Qatar Grand Prix.
Just five days after securing his fourth title with a measured climb to fifth at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the 27-year-old Dutchman will return to the track hoping to repeat his pole-to-flag triumph. last year.
Verstappen holds the lap record at the Lusail International Circuit, set in 2023, and should enjoy driving with freedom and confidence, but will face a tough challenge from all his rivals as McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes seek success.
After losing out last weekend in the fight for the drivers’ title, Lando Norris and his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri will aim to increase their leadership position with 608 points, 24 ahead of Ferrari with 584 and Red Bull with 555 points. There are two Grands Prix remaining, including a sprint in Qatar.
Verstappen won last year’s race ahead of Norris and Piastri, who took the sprint victory, suggesting that, given their more recent form, this will be a weekend that could favor the McLaren team considerably improved during the third event in Qatar.
Outgoing seven-time Mercedes champion Lewis Hamilton, who leaves the team to join Ferrari after the season finale in Abu Dhabi next week, won Qatar’s inaugural race of 2021. There was no race in 2022 when Qatar hosted the final phase of the FIFA World Cup. .
“Winning the title was an incredible moment,” Verstappen said before arriving in Doha. “I’m so proud of what we achieved as a team. There were tough times, but we stuck together, we never gave up and that’s what made it so special.
“We are still very focused for the race in Qatar and it will be a busy weekend. The season is not over yet… We want to continue the momentum and gain as many points as possible for the team – keep going.” !”
– “No one is unbeatable” –
The champion can expect a stiff challenge from all his rivals, led by Mercedes’ George Russell, who won at Nevada and has declared he intends to embark on a title challenge in 2025, if her car, often capricious, proves to be as fast and reliable as her. it was last weekend.
“No one is unbeatable,” Russell said, amid talk of an era of Verstappen dominance. “You go through phases where teams and drivers dominate, but you have to have confidence in yourself… Personally, I believe we can fight it on equal terms.”
The shift in focus towards the Constructors’ Championship will bring into play the prestige and prize money of those teams who, within the sport and its paddock, view it as the true focus of their attention whilst recognizing the popular value of the drivers’ title also.
Although the prize money allocation is not made public, most knowledgeable paddock sources estimate that the champion team earns between $140 million and $150 million, while the runner-up will take home between $130 million and $135 million. .
The third-place team could receive around 125 million, with each of the ten receiving around 10 million less than the team finishing one place above them, a situation that will change in 2026 when General Motors’ Cadillac brand enters as that new team.
By then, given F1’s US-fueled growth, revenue streams and bonuses are expected to have increased with the momentum generated which on Wednesday saw the famous and historic Italian Grand Prix extended his place on the calendar with a six-year contract. until 2031.
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