- Verstappen recovers to finish second despite grid penalty
- Red Bull driver leads by eight points with two races to go
Twenty races into a gruelling Formula One season, Lewis Hamilton remains relentless and unbowed in his determination to take the title fight to the wire. With his dominant victory over rival Max Verstappen at the debut Qatar Grand Prix, the world champion has ensured this gripping and finelypoised battle hangs in the balance. Hamilton is clearly pumped up for it and rightly so on this evidence from the Losail circuit, where his Mercedes team may have delivered the car to make the difference at a vital moment.
Hamilton won with a consummate, controlled run from pole to flag, inch‑perfect with pace that Verstappen could not challenge. He has cut the lead to the Dutchman from 14 points to eight, with 52 available from the final two races, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi.
