The Qatar Grand Prix all the time offers loads of drama because the penultimate race of the season, and 2025 was no totally different. The joy was continuous because of the ultimate Dash weekend and entertaining help races. After all of the motion on observe, Qatar has set the stage completely for a Championship showdown in Abu Dhabi subsequent weekend…
It was a racing spectacle on-track as Max Verstappen stormed to an surprising victory, the McLaren pair had been caught out after their technique backfired, and Carlos Sainz and Williams secured their second podium of the season. However these weren’t the one tales from this epic Grand Prix weekend – so listed here are some magic moments it is best to learn about.
Loads of paddock padel
Qatar is famously a race with intense situations for the drivers, that includes excessive g-forces and even greater temperatures – so it’s no marvel that lots of the paddock prefer to unwind between classes.
It’s no secret that padel has been the go-to for lots of the grid over the previous few years, and many drivers headed to the courts earlier than the motion bought underway on Friday. Ever the rivals, good pals Lando Norris and George Russell confronted off towards one another – we marvel which Brit bought the win on the court docket…
As if padel wasn’t vigorous sufficient, Pierre Gasly and reserve driver Paul Aron additionally joined a lot of the Alpine crew in a pleasant (or so we predict…) soccer match throughout the weekend. That’s one solution to heat up forward of the race – we’ll be choosing an ice bathtub!
Carlos Sainz’s podium celebrations
In securing their second podium of the season in Qatar, the celebrations within the Williams storage had been nothing wanting epic, whereas Sainz’s P3 noticed him turn into the primary Williams driver to attain a number of podium finishes in a season since 2015. It additionally secured the Grove-based group a mighty fifth place within the Constructors’ Championship – an excellent spectacular feat contemplating their P9 end final season.
Through the heartwarming group celebrations, Alex Albon despatched champagne flying and Crew Principal James Vowles even discovered himself unexpectedly tackled to the bottom by Sainz’s cousin and manager Carlos Onoro. If his laughter was something to go by, he didn’t appear to thoughts one bit – even when he might get up with a memento bruise or two…!
And the feel-good podium moments simply saved coming, as Red Bull additionally loved an iconic podium return – solely this one didn’t come from behind the wheel.
Stepping up alongside Verstappen, Hannah Schmitz obtained a hero’s welcome because the group celebrated one other tactical masterclass from their star strategist. Her return to the rostrum served as a reminder of simply how pivotal she stays to Purple Bull’s profitable machine.
Versatile(ish) Franco
Is there a greater solution to heat up for a gruelling race weekend than yoga with a 24-time Grand Slam tennis champion? Franco Colapinto had the pleasure of becoming a member of an on-grid Yoga session with Novak Djokovic throughout an Alpine sponsor occasion – though don’t anticipate to see this turn into an everyday factor for the Argentinian.
It’s truthful to say that Colapinto might have struggled with the Serbian’s stretches, admitting he “couldn’t even sustain with the warm-up” on Instagram.
Kimi lastly getting his Vegas glasses
In a second we’re positive he’s been ready for all week, Kimi Antonelli lastly obtained the well-known LEGO podium glasses from the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Antonelli’s eventual P3 was not confirmed till after the rostrum celebrations had concluded, because the McLaren duo had been each disqualified for technical infringements throughout post-race checks.
Though thrilled to complete P3, Antonelli admitted he wished he may have been part of the pre-podium celebrations within the LEGO Cadillac, so forward of the Qatar Grand Prix weekend – a little bit of the celebrations had been delivered to him. And with the solar out in Qatar, we’re positive he wore these sunnies all weekend lengthy!
Celeb recognizing in Qatar
In an epic weekend on-track, the Lusail Worldwide Circuit was abuzz with celebrities eager to catch a flash of the motion because the Championship combat took one other dramatic flip. F1 fan, and paddock common, comic Kevin Hart had the honour of waving the drivers throughout the road while on chequered flag responsibility on Sunday.
World-class sports activities stars know a factor or two concerning the pleasure of battling for a championship – so it was unsurprising but thrilling to see such a excessive turnout of celebrity athletes within the paddock over race weekend. Together with tennis legends Djokovic and Serena Williams, we additionally noticed former England gamers David Beckham, Rio Ferdinand, Steven Gerrard and Gary Neville, World Cup winner Sami Khedira, and former Olympic champions Mutaz Barshim and Mo Farah.
Elsewhere within the paddock, FIFA president Gianni Infantino, TV host Steve Harvey, fashions Alton Mason, Adriana Lima and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, TV character Maya Jama, and actress Jessica Alba had been all noticed having fun with the race weekend.
It appeared solely becoming {that a} race weekend as gripping as this was closed out with an epic set by rock legends Metallica, who additionally took time to soak within the motion all through the weekend. The group fuelled the thrill with nothing however pure motorsport ‘whiplash’ – visiting a number of garages and stopping by to satisfy with F1 President & CEO Stefano Domenicali.
