THE RACE's video: Was F1 s weird Qatar GP good to watch The Race F1 Podcast

The Mercedes drivers' opening-lap clash in the Qatar Grand Prix goes under the spotlight in the latest episode of The Race F1 Podcast. Lewis Hamilton was quick to reverse his immediate view of the incident at the first corner and accept full responsibility for it, and Edd Straw, Mark Hughes and Ben Anderson discuss a rare eye-opening misjudgement from the seven-time world champion - albeit a second in four grands prix - and how big a problem Mercedes' driver dynamic might be if it's as competitive as it hopes in 2024. So eventful was the weekend that it was easy to miss Max Verstappen sealing a third F1 title but there's a dedicated appraisal of his relentless charge to the 2023 crown as well as his route to victory in Qatar in a unique race where stint lengths were capped at 18 laps. Verstappen didn't have it all his own way at Lusail, though, and Oscar Piastri's sprint race win, his development kerb in his first year, and how much it will sting for Lando Norris that his team-mate has an F1 win before him are all discussed. And as well as examining another under-par performance from Sergio Perez, once again the panel takes questions from The Race Members' Club. 00:00 - Intro 02:03 - A slightly different race 02:43 - Verstappen the 3-time champion 04:45 - Mercedes drivers collide 11:30 - How the race played out 17:30 - Why Pirelli put tyre rules in place 21:30 - Piastri stars 28:03 - Ferrari subdued 31:28 - Perez struggles again 36:26 - Stroll’s frustrations boil over 41:04 - Alonso’s unusual errors 43:31 - Alfa Romeo’s best points haul of the year 46:00 - Was it too hot to race? 50:11 - Why drivers struggled 51:40 - What happened to Sainz? 53:20 - Track limits 57:46 - Did Qatar show drivers can follow closely when they push? 59:00 - Could Piastri usurp Norris? 01:00:53 - Are sprint wins legitimate wins? 01:02:31 - Piastri vs Verstappen on Saturday 01:04:35 - Ricciardo's comeback 01:07:06 - Is there a future for maximum stint lengths? 01:08:22 - Track changes 01:09:34 - Should the FIA punish Stroll? 01:12:03 - Gasly's racecraft Subscribe: http://the-race.com/youtube_subscribe Website: http://the-race.com/ Twitter: @wearetherace Instagram: @wearetherace Facebook: http://facebook.com/wearetherace Podcasts: http://the-race.com/podcasts Thanks for watching - please like, share and comment, please also hit subscribe to show your support so we'll keep doing what we're doing. https://www.the-race.com http://www.twitter.com/wearetherace