Verstappen triumphs in chaos: ninth win of the season at the Qatar GP!

Max Verstappen triumphed in the exciting Qatar Grand Prix, setting another milestone with his ninth win of the season. The four-time world champion overtook pole-sitter George Russell right from the start and quickly moved into the lead, feeling the pressure from Lando Norris in the McLaren. Despite three safety car phases and a brief instability at the second restart, Verstappen held his nerve and confidently secured victory, while Norris ultimately ended up in tenth place due to a penalty laola1.at reported.

Helmut Marko, Red Bull's motorsport consultant, left no doubt that the victory before the winter break was of enormous importance. "A win like this is incredibly important and motivating. We have to take this momentum with us," he said. Verstappen himself was also enthusiastic about the significant increase in performance of his car compared to the previous sprint and praised the excellent teamwork that made this turnaround possible within one day.

Latest regulations regarding the safety car phase

The FIA ​​has also reacted to Verstappen's controversial tactics during the safety car starts. In recent races it was noticeable that Verstappen tried several times to overtake his competitor before the restart, which caused unrest. This tactic, which he already used against Lewis Hamilton in Abu Dhabi 2021, led to a revision of the rules, which now make it clear that drivers must maintain a constant pace on the restart in order to avoid accidents, like autosport.com reported. Incident number 55.14 of the F1 rules has been updated to strictly prohibit such risky maneuvers.

These new guidelines are intended to prevent incidents similar to those at the Tuscan GP 2020 from occurring again. Verstappen, who now has to adapt the merits of his offensive tactics, is under additional pressure as the competition, including Ferrari, keeps a close eye on developments.