Qatar Grand Prix Highlights, F1 Main Race: Max Verstappen Wins; Championship Fight Goes To Abu Dhabi

Greetings and thank you for joining us, as we take you through the build-up and live action from the Qatar Grand Prix. McLaren driver Oscar Piastri set the pace in qualifying, with Lando Norris and Max Verstappen behind him, and an intriguing race awaits. We will bring you up to speed with all of it.

The race is scheduled to begin at 9:30pm IST. The Qatar Grand Prix main event will be live streamed on the FanCode app and website in India. It will not be telecast on any TV channel in the country.

The pre-race rituals are currently on. The drivers earlier headed towards the front for the national anthem. A number of celebrities, including football icon David Beckham and chef Gordon Ramsay, are in attendance for the grand event.

The equation is simple for Lando Norris to claim the title: win the Qatar Grand Prix tonight. If Norris ends up 26 points or more ahead of Piastri after this race, and also at least 25 points in front of Max Verstappen, he will emerge victor.

Right, then. The cars line up for the formation lap and the lights are about to go green very soon.

It's a dramatic start to the Qatar Grand Prix as Max Verstappen makes a move straightaway to overtake Lando Norris in Turn One. Oscar Piastri firm in P1 with a strong start, meanwhile.

Nico Hulkenberg bumps into Pierre Gasly and crashes out in the seventh lap. The yellow flag goes up initially, and it is followed by a safety car period. Carlos Sainz moves into P4, as the track clears up.

McLaren are sitting pretty at the moment with a Piastri-Norris one-two, with the Australian currently enjoying a 3.5-second lead over the Briton. If it goes on this way, Norris will have to wait longer to claim the Championship.

Oscar Piastri pitted in the 26th lap and has opted for another set of medium tyres. He has since made up the gap quickly and jumped to the second spot behind Max Verstappen.

Max Verstappen now leads the race, with Oscar Piastri more than 13 seconds behind in P2 and Carlos Sainz in third place. This is lining up a very interesting finish, with neither of the three podium spots sealed per se.

The Max caravan marches on! It is chequered flag for Verstappen in the Qatar GP, as he wins ahead of Oscar Piastri as well as Lando Norris, the two major contenders for the drivers' championship. The victory thus keeps the title race alive and kicking heading into the Abu Dhabi finale.

The Qatar win means Max Verstappen jumps to second in the drivers' championship title fight. Lando Norris (408 points) leads Verstappen (396) by 12 points, going into the final race in Abu Dhabi. Oscar Piastri is not far behind in third at 392 points. One of these three will lift the title, come next Sunday (December 7).