Motor racing-‘Call me Chucky’: Verstappen revels in McLaren’s Qatar horror show

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By Alan Baldwin

DOHA, Nov 30 (Reuters) – Formula One champion Max Verstappen revelled in McLaren’s strategy horror show at the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday as the Red Bull driver won again, days after the team’s boss compared him to a movie monster who keeps on coming back.

“He can call me Chucky,” grinned the Dutchman after winning under the Lusail floodlights from third place on the grid.

McLaren, who had both cars disqualified in Las Vegas a week earlier while Verstappen won, had swept the front row with Oscar Piastri on pole and championship leader Lando Norris — seeking to clinch the title — alongside the Australian.

Then it all went wrong again for the champions.

Verstappen passed Norris at the start and pitted from second on lap seven when the safety car was deployed, while the McLarens stayed out and paid the price — Piastri ending up second and Norris fourth.

That rocketed Verstappen up to second in the championship, 12 points behind Norris with only the Abu Dhabi finale remaining and four ahead of Piastri. At the end of August the Dutch driver had been 104 points off Piastri’s lead.

STRATEGY WON THE RACE

“I didn’t expect to win today, that’s for sure,” Verstappen told Sky Sports television.

“Looking at pure pace, we were not on the same level as McLaren, but we made the right call, as most of the grid did, in boxing under the safety car.

“That almost gives you a free pit stop and that made the race for me.

“For sure, that call at the pit stop made me win the race today.”

Red Bull reinforced that feeling by sending Hannah Schmitz, the team’s principal strategy engineer, up to the podium to share Verstappen’s fizzy celebrations under the floodlights. 

Verstappen said he did not think McLaren had messed up by trying to be fair to both drivers, not wanting to disadvantage one over the other in the title battle if they had double-stacked them at a pitstop, but just made a wrong call.

“It was about missing the whole pit stop opportunity,” he said. “On pure pace they are faster, but as it showed today again anything is possible.”

McLaren chief executive Zak Brown had likened Verstappen earlier in the week to “that guy in a horror movie, that right as you think he’s not coming back, he’s back.”

Vegas was a blow and Sunday was a shock for McLaren, who have already won the constructors’ crown for a second year in a row.

Next weekend will truly be a nightmare if Verstappen denies them a same-season title double for the first time since Mika Hakkinen in 1998.  

“I think on pure pace it will be tough but a race like today also shows that it’s not always straightforward, a Grand Prix, and a lot of things can happen,” said Verstappen. “So I’m probably relying a little bit on that.”

(Reporting by Alan BaldwinEditing by Toby Davis)