THE STRATEGIST: Norris reckons he could have won in Qatar with a better grid slot – but is he right?

McLaren finished the Qatar Grand Prix with a second double podium of the year, with Oscar Piastri and team mate Lando Norris P2 and P3 respectively behind winner Max Verstappen.

It was a great result, but after the race Norris suggested the win would have been possible had he had a better qualifying and therefore better starting position. “The pace was good enough to win today,” he said. “We had the pace to probably be on top if I didn’t do the mistakes I made earlier in the weekend [in qualifying].”