A bizarre meeting during Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix could lead to McLaren losing the constructors’ championship.
Max Verstappen won the race after Lando Norris had to pit from second place to serve a 10-second drive-through penalty for failing to slow down under a yellow flag. Halfway through the race someone’s rearview mirror fell off the car and it sat in the middle of the main straight for several laps.
Race officials simply dropped the yellow flags at the end of the straight instead of calling the safety car or calling the virtual safety car to raise the mirror. As the officials waited to do something about the mirror, Valtteri Bottas ran over it and the mirror shattered into countless pieces.
These pieces appear to have caused both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz to have front tire punctures. After the tires of both drivers, F1 finally called the safety car.
Norris’ penalty happened in laps where an intact mirror sat on the track. He was forced to pit with 12 laps to go and finished 10th, setting the fastest lap.
With Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc second and team-mate Carlos Sainz sixth and Norris’ McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri third, Ferrari have gained nine points on McLaren and now trail by 21 points heading into the season finale in Abu Dhabi on 8 December.