Hamilton left dumbfounded by Verstappen's triumph in Qatar GP

07:44, 02 Dec

byTobia Elia

Lewis Hamilton admitted he was genuinely surprised to learn that the Qatar Grand Prix had been won by Max Verstappen rather than Oscar Piastri.

"Max won? Oh s***, I didn't know, I had no idea! Holy s***! Wow! I thought Piastri won...”

- Lewis Hamilton

When reminded that the Dutchman is now just twelve points behind leader Lando Norris following McLaren’s costly strategic blunder, Hamilton told GPblog: "Max won? Oh s***, I didn't know, I had no idea! Holy s***! Wow! I thought Piastri won... Well, that's exciting! It goes right to the last… to the wire.”

The seven-time world champion then tipped his hat to Verstappen, praising the Dutchman’s outstanding work and acknowledging his talent extends far beyond simply driving a competitive car.

"We all know Max does a great job. I think he's got a phenomenal team behind him, there's no denying that the best car really over the last four years, and maybe less so the beginning of this year. But they somehow came back. He's obviously got a great car, but he does an amazing job with it. So fair play to him."

Photo: RacePictures.

Hamilton blasts FIA and slams Qatar GP as worst F1 race of 2025

The seven-time world champion endured his toughest weekend yet in a Ferrari debut season that was already proving challenging.

In Qatar, Hamilton was knocked out in Q1 on both the sprint qualifying and main qualifying sessions, failing to break into the points in either race.

He also took aim at the FIA, praising Losail for its spectacular layout but criticizing it as ill-suited for racing due to the very limited overtaking opportunities. On top of that, he voiced his frustration over the mandatory two-stop rule.

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