FACTS AND STATS: Verstappen’s 50th win with #1 means he could yet retain it

We’ll leave the permutations for next weekend’s title decider aside for now. All that matters after Qatar is that three men could still win it, with the championship leader having lost the most ground in Lusail – and the outsider having gained most. Here are just some of the numbers behind a highly unpredictable Grand Prix that leaves the 2025 drivers’ crown very much in the balance…

• Abu Dhabi will be the first championship decider involving more than two drivers since 2010.

• Verstappen won the Qatar Grand Prix for the third consecutive season.

• Verstappen is the first driver to win the Qatar Grand Prix without leading the opening lap.

• It was Verstappen’s 70th career Grand Prix victory.

• It was Verstappen’s seventh Grand Prix win this season, meaning he is now tied with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

• Verstappen is ahead of a McLaren in the Drivers' Championship for the first time since April.

• It was Verstappen’s 50th victory while wearing the #1 on his car.

• Piastri finished second – and lost second in the Drivers' Championship standings to Verstappen.

• Piastri ended his six-race run without a podium finish.

• P3 for Carlos Sainz makes him the first Williams driver to score multiple podium finishes in a season since 2015 (Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas).

• Friday marked the fourth anniversary of the passing of team founder Sir Frank Williams.

• Norris finished in P4 and now leads the Drivers' Championship by 12 points over Verstappen, with a 16-point advantage over Piastri.

• At Mercedes, Kimi Antonelli took P5 for his fourth consecutive top-six finish.

• George Russell in P6 was beaten by team mate Antonelli for the third time in the last 4 Grands Prix.

• With P7 for Aston Martin, Fernando Alonso scored his first Grand Prix points for four races.

• Charles Leclerc in P8 was the leading Ferrari and finished 56.8 seconds behind the winner.

• With P9, Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson scored the first-ever points for the Italian team in a Qatar Grand Prix.

• Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda took P10, meaning he scored points in both the Sprint and the Grand Prix this weekend.

• Williams’ Alex Albon was 11th and has not scored points for the last seven Grands Prix.

• Lewis Hamilton finished in P12 in his fourth pointless Grand Prix with Ferrari in the last 10 race weekends.