The festive season is here, and you know what that means. Lot of everything. Lots of drinking. Lots of eating. Lots of that bloody Mariah Carey song every time you go somewhere in public, just the way you like it. But it is also a time for other Christmas songs and tradition, and when talking more or lots of anything, The Gurgler website will usually get behind lots and more of AI Greg Norman.
The 2025 stocking has filled stocked to breaking point with shirtless AI Greg Norman, so why would or should the Christmas period be any different. In fact Christmas is a time of excess, so why not more. Too much AI Greg Norman is barely enough we say.
So for a holiday treat, and a 2025 countdown which seems to be all the rage on social media, so we are told, here is the traditional 12 Days of Christmas, done as only The Gurgler knows how and best. By infusing AI Greg Norman into every day, counting from 12 backwards with a new exclusive picture every day, and finishing with a final pic on Christmas Eve.
So don your favourite Lowes Hawaiian shirt, grab another beer and more food that you need, and enjoy the The 12 Days of Gregmas.
Merry Gregmas.
And a 2026 filled with more AI Greg Norman.
On the 12th Day of Gregmas….The Gurgler Gave to you….
12 Drummers Drumming
On the 11th Day of Gregmas….The Gurgler Gave to you….
11 Pipers Piping
On the 10th Day of Gregmas….The Gurgler Gave to you….
10 Lords-A-Leaping
12 Days of Gregmas – Day 10
On the 9th Day of Gregmas….The Gurgler Gave to you….
9 Ladies Dancing
12 Days of Gregmas – Day 9
On the 8th Day of Gregmas….The Gurgler Gave to you….
8 Maids-A-Milking
On the 7th Day of Gregmas….The Gurgler Gave to you….
7 Swans-a-Swimming
On the 6th Day of Gregmas….The Gurgler Gave to you….
6 Geese-a-Laying
On the 5th Day of Gregmas….The Gurgler Gave to you….
5 Golden Rings
On the 4th Day of Gregmas….The Gurgler Gave to you….
4 Calling Birds
On the 3rd Day of Gregmas….The Gurgler Gave to you….
3 French Hens
On the 2nd Day of Gregmas….The Gurgler Gave to you….
It was the best of times, it was the blurst of times….Actually no, 2025 sucked in so many different ways, and as ever The Gurgler website have moaned about most of the people and things that caused this all year long. And as is now traditional, and in the 10th edition we assemble the blurst of the blurst and offer up our 2025 Jerk of the Year Nominations.
Every year since 2016, The Gurgler has picked out the worst people, groups and things from the year that was, full of bias, with some of that unfair, but there’s one thing in common, being a jerk. So it’s really not us, it’s you (to the jerks). We get that list of jerks and hand it over to the few reader that the website has, and let a democratic vote of the people crown the 2025 Jerk of the Year.
But you should always vote with some background, so we have provided the 2025 Jerk of the Year form guide before our official 2025 Jerk of the Year voting art the bottom.
And always, Vote Early, Vote Often.
2025 Jerk of the Year Nominations Vote Now
Vote early, vote often. And follow the form guide below.
Here’s a quick run down of all the nominations and the reasons they are part of this exclusive club.
POLITICS
It would be so easy to nominate one person from politics, and lord knows that certain people would deserve a solo nomination but is it really the person or the game they are in – politics?
The quick answer is f–k no, it’s person for sure, but the long answer and the one we are taking for 2025 Jerk of the Year is that all politics and most politicians as jerks.
There’s a few we like, and some of them make it to our 2025 Person of the Year, but not many. If any. And also too many.
And we really don’t wanna clog this voting process up with hundreds of people.
Politics have become so ferociously one side over another that people are blind to good and bad. Some as mild as Australia’s Albo are the worst thing that has ever happened, but others will tell you that a gentleman in charge of the USA is, and then others will tell you he is the greatest thing to happen ever. Then you work out that most politicians suck anyway.
All of that get tiresome after a while, especially but this time of the year when Jerk of the Year noms need to be finalised. So here is your first 2025 Jerk of the Year Nomination, all politics.
TWITTER AKA X
Following on from the politicians is the airspace that they live and breathe. Or that allows politics to be so awful.
In fairness, most social media probably deserves a nomination for Jerk of the Year, but no one and nothing on earth peddles hate, from both side of politics like Twitter.
It doesn’t help that one of the most unlikeable people on the face of the earth runs the show, who could very well have been up for a personal nomination as well.
Below him are people that use free speech as a cover for being truly awful. The end result is a mix of hate, racism, ignorance, sport clickbait, virtue signaling from big companies and any sponsored content.
And a Jerk of the Year nomination.
NEWS LIMITED ONLINE COMMENTS SECTION
One step lower than Twitter for ignorance is any News Ltd Comments section for Australian based websites.
Spoiler alert – everything is Albo’s fault.
CHANNEL NEIN
For their insistence on Wednesday State of Origin, Sunday night Grand Finals, and Mat Thompson screaming instead of commentating. And for any sports broadcasting of theirs this decade. And before.
SKY F1
The most biased sporting commentary team in any sport in the world. Their obsession with certain drivers has made the pre and post session coverage almost unwatchable, and for some slightly tarred their reputations as superior broadcasters. Although, must exclude Karun Chandhok who has been a shining light. But they got what they wanted, which might make 2026 even worse.
DANICA PATRICK
Talk about getting worse, the Sky F1 coverage did on multiple times in 2025 as Danica Patrick joined in. The worst sporting special comments person in the world. A conversation killer who adds to Sky’s unwatchable-ness when in America. And this is no bias that you have to be an ex-F1 driver or Champion, or have to be from Europe, and is certainly not biased against females as most in the Sky F1 cast are excellent. This is purely that Danica Patrick is the worst motorsport contributor around. She’s the Lance Stroll of F1 punditry.
LANCE STROLL
Lance Stroll is the Lance Stroll of F1 Drivers. With places on the F1 grid are so limited, what a shame one is wasted on this pathetic Daddy’s boy. How someone who appears to outwardly hate being an F1 driver so much is beyond belief as it is one of the greatest jobs in the world alongside beer quality control officer, the guy who designs the patterns of lawn mowing on sports grounds and train driver. The sooner he retires himself the better for everyone. Including the hundreds of better drivers in multiple racing series around the world who deserve an F1 seat more.
FIA PRESIDENT – MOHAMMED BEN SULAYEM
Is as popular in F1 as a McLaren team order or Lance Stroll, the FIA President has ruled F1 miserably being disliked by fans, drivers and teams alike, with his only fans being the people he tells to be. Sacked key people, mostly for no good reason, threatened bans for swearing and wearing jewelry, and for others merely breathing. Sadly looks like he might run unopposed and let his awful reign continue. Tis the year for awful people being in charge.
FIFA PRESIDENT – GIANNI INFANTINO
And we all though Sepp Blatter was the worst sporting president ever. The latest has asked the world to hold many beers. Whereas Blatter appeared to be just plain corrupt, Infantino looks to be next level comedy bad guy boss. The FIFA Peace Prize is among the largest acts of public arse kissing seen in history.
BUZZ ROTHFIELD
An annual inclusion for rugby league’s most pitiful contributor. Disguises his hatred of rugby league through dropping half hints and knowing stuff. Maybe he does, and maybe we just don’t believe it. How someone can do a job for so long in an industry he appears to hate is amazing. The fact he works for News Ltd doesn’t help.
FOSSIE BEAR
The Muppet Show isn’t funny, just a collection of muppets crazily going about things pretending to know what they’re doing. But of all the Muppets in the Muppet Show Fossie Bear is the very worse. A comedian who isn’t funny is about the most useless thing on earth. Not that he doesn’t make you laugh, just not for the reasons he is intending.
JONESES
Problem with Joneses is you only get a small amount of time to enjoy their jerkdom. One minute they’re your best friend, happy to take advantage of your generosity and friendship, the next minute they’ve upgraded and found something better as they always do. Once your usefulness to them is complete, you get nothing but empty death stares for no reason other than they are now better than you. Of course you’ve done nothing wrong, but that doesn’t matter. You no longer matter. The only thing is left to wonder what you’ve ever done wrong and wonder if you were just being used the whole time, and hand them a vote for Jerk of the Year.
BOM
For changing a perfectly good website over in the middle of the traditional severe storm season. And paying $95M to have a website that was worse than the predecessor and not better than a 35 year old single man’s blog about the worst overgrown public footpaths in Sydney. You’d think that the BOM would have been able to forecast when to changeover a website and predict that people wouldn’t prefer it.
PEOPLE
Finally, at the heart of an awful 2025 are people. Most people. Awful people. And people being awful. Not just big, awful things. Lots of little awful things, by awful people or people being awful.
Worth slightly less than a transfer window, worried that a change of manager has made no difference, with more point than an entire pack of Wolves, playing in a formation that was unfashionable and illegal 60 years ago, and somehow getting the full support of the Chairman, it’s our 2025-26 Premier League Predictions Week 16.
Each gameweek in this 2025-26 Premier League season we offer up a stat filled prediction preview, with some barely interesting stats and visuals, just enough to bluff your way through various tipping competitions or betting shops.
We also attempted to guess the final Premier League ladder in advance. Follow the link to that here.
Barely Interesting Stats – 2025-26 Premier League Predictions Week 16 – Stats and Thoughts
Help yourself to a buffet of barely interesting stats, quick one liners and more to help pick a winner.
BEST OF WEEK 16 STATS
Everton last won at Chelsea in 1994 and since then it has been 22 losses and 14 draws.
Fulham haven’t won at Burnley since 1951, it has been 26 losses and eight draws since.
Arsenal have won eight in a row v Wolves, and Wolves have scored in two of those games.
Aston Villa have the best Sunday record this season at 2.44 points per game coming from W7 D1 L1.
Leeds are the only pointless team on a Sunday this season.
At either ground on a Sunday, Sunderland are undefeated in nine games v Newcastle, winning five.
2025-26 Premier League Predictions Week 16
SAT 3PM – CHELSEA v EVERTON
Stats: Everton last won at Chelsea in 1994 and since then it has been 22 losses and 14 draws. Five of the last six times Everton have scored a goal in a match at Chelsea they have got a point. This will be Everton’s first game away to a London club this season.
Verdict: The last time Everton won at Chelsea the internet barely existed.
Prediction: Chelsea 2 Everton 0
SAT 3PM – LIVERPOOL v BRIGHTON
Stats: Brighton are W2 D1 L1 v big six clubs this season. Brighton have only ever won once at Liverpool on a Saturday in 1982. Overall it is W8 D5 L1 for Liverpool. Brighton (and Man Utd) have the highest % of games where both teams score – 11/15.
Verdict: Maybe it can get worse for Liverpool.
Prediction: Liverpool 2 Brighton 2
SAT 5:30PM – BURNLEY v FULHAM
Stats: Fulham haven’t won at Burnley since 1951, it has been 26 losses and eight draws since. At either ground Burnley are W3 D2 over the last five games. Burnley come into this game on a run of six straight losses, same as Wolves.
Verdict: How this isn’t kicking off at 3pm is a wonder.
Prediction: Burnley 1 Fulham 0
SAT 8PM – ARSENAL v WOLVES
Stats: Despite only having two draws in their 15 games so far, Wolves’ expected goals against is better than West Ham and Burnley. Arsenal have won eight in a row v Wolves, and Wolves have scored in two of those games. Arsenal are also unbeaten at home on a Saturday v Wolves in the last eight meetings (w6 D2 for Arsenal). One of Wolves’ two points this season have come against a big six club.
Verdict: Is this the most one-sided game of the season?
Prediction: Arsenal 5 Wolves 0
SUN 2PM – CRYSTAL PALACE v MAN CITY
Stats: Crystal Palace are W1 D1 L2 v big six clubs this season. Man City are W2 D1 away to London clubs. Crystal Palace hold their own against Man City over the past four seasons with their record W1 D3 L4. Although, Crystal Palace’s record v Man City is better away than home. At home they haven’t won since 2015 with eight losses and three draws since.
Verdict: A top four clash with lots of potential for entertainment.
Prediction: Crystal Palace 0 Man City 3
SUN 2PM – NOTTINGHAM FOREST v TOTTENHAM
Stats: Nottingham Forest have won the last two games v Spurs. Tottenham have won the last two on a Sunday.
Verdict: At least one of these clubs has gone better since Ange left.
Prediction: Nottingham Forest 1 Spurs 1
SUN 2PM – SUNDERLAND v NEWCASTLE
Stats: Sunderland have won the last three games at home to Newcastle on a Sunday. Overall Sunderland have a W3 D5 L2 record at home to Newcastle on a Sunday. At either ground on a Sunday, Sunderland are undefeated in nine games v Newcastle, winning five.
Verdict: How the first Tyne-Wear derby isn’t the premium 4:30pm kick off beats us. Especially when the alternative is Brentford-Leeds.
Prediction: Sunderland 1 Newcastle 1
SUN 2PM – WEST HAM v ASTON VILLA
Stats: Aston Villa have the best Sunday record this season at 2.44 points per game coming from W7 D1 L1. Aston Villa W2 D3 are unbeaten in their last five v West Ham, but prior to that they had lost five in a row. Five of the six games between these sides at West Ham on a Sunday have ended in a draw.
Verdict: Can the form team of the league push for a title after their big win against Arsenal last weekend. If they can’t beat out-of-sorts West Ham, no.
Prediction: West Ham 1 Aston Villa 3
SUN 4:30PM – BRENTFORD v LEEDS
Stats: Leeds are the only pointless team on a Sunday this season. Three of the last four games between these sides have ended in a draw. Both Sudnay meetings between these sides ended in a draw. Brentford (W8 D4) are unbeaten in their last 12 home games v Leeds.
Verdict: Leeds look like they have turned the corner, which is bad news for teams like Brentford who are barely better.
Prediction: Brentford 1 Leeds 2
MONDAY 8PM – MAN UTD v BOURNEMOUTH
Stats: Bournemouth (W2 D2) are unbeaten in their last four v Man Utd. But Man Utd have won all five midweek games v Bournemouth.
Verdict: Bournemouth’s season is quickly dying in the arse.
Prediction: Man Utd 3 Bournemouth 0
2025-26 Premier League Predictions Week 16
And here are all the tips together in one place for your convenience.
Chelsea 2 Everton 0
Liverpool 2 Brighton 2
Burnley 1 Fulham 0
Arsenal 5 Wolves 0
Crystal Palace 0 Man City 3
Nottingham Forest 1 Spurs 1
Sunderland 1 Newcastle 1
West Ham 1 Aston Villa 3
Brentford 1 Leeds 2
Man Utd 3 Bournemouth 0
Season Progress
RATING: Barely better than Wolves.
SEASON: 58/130 – 7 perfect scores.
LAST TIME: 2/10
2025-26 Premier League Season Stats
Each week we’ll bring you some of the choicest cuts of stats we have created from our Data super computer called Jeff.
Here are The Gurgler’s 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Ratings – our way of rating the performances on the track without causing any red flags or running into our nearest website.
Our G-Power Rankings goes a little bit deeper than just points scored on the Sunday and has a slightly cooler name than most. We take on board Free Practice, Qualifying, performance in relation to teammate, fastest lap, and a few more stats that are attempting to highlight a driver outperforming the car and/or thrashing their teammate.
We offer up an express version of the stats, with a future full look at the 2025 F1 Season Stats coming soon.
2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Race Result Summary
2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Ratings – Drivers
Here are the current overall standings for our Driver of the Year winner – the Martini Medal. Named in honour of one of F1’s most unsung heroes – Pierluigi Martini of Minardi fame.
We have the overall scores as they stand, plus a visual which shows the flow of each driver’s position throughout the season, plus a few points of interest below.
Here is the breakdown of the Driver of the Year points from the most recent race and the season so far. Remembering our ratings go across a whole weekend, so the race winner who may not have had a great qualifying or sprint race may not come out on top.
LATEST RACE RATINGS & DRIVER OF THE YEAR UPDATE
2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Ratings – Teams
This is essentially using the same drivers stats but in reverse for the worst score, but taking out anything that is a H2H between the drivers.
And our annual award focuses on the other end of the grid, highlighting the worst team of the season.
Of course, the worst team of the season award needs to be named after the worst F1 team of all time. And if you want to fund out more about Andrea Moda, follow this link.
LATEST RACE & SEASON RATINGS
Alpine have nearly sealed the Andrea Moda Medal for 2025.
Here is the best of the stats from the 2025 F1 season so far. Which we admit isn’t much, but stay tuned throughout the year for more.
H2H
Here is the ultimate H2H comparison, with the overall qualifying and race measures, plus one that calculates all official sessions across the weekend.
QUALIFYING – DRIVERS
With qualifying becoming all important, here are some key stats from the season that is.
1ST LAP PROGRESS
The movers and shakers of 2025 F1 Season.
FREE PRACTICE
Some say Free Practice is a giant waste of time, and they are probably right. Regardless here is the average position for each drivers in Free Practice this season. Each round an average of all the sessions.
2025 F1 Season Power Rankings – Points Explanation
Here’s how the points work this season. Essentially the perfect race (Win from Pole, Fastest Lap, thrash team mate, best in race etc) should amount to the perfect 100 points.
FIRST LAP GAINS +0.5pts per position gained -0.5pts per position lost.
CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS – 25pts to 1pt as per World Championship – Sprint Race Points added.
BEAT TEAM MATE (RACE) – 10pts (if both finish or other driver got self inflicted DNF)
FASTEST LAP – 5pts – 1pt for top five drivers.
GRID POSITION TO RACE POSITION – formula +/- relative finish to grid
BEST OF THE REST (RACE) – 5pts to 1pt – top five non Mercedes-Red Bull drivers
QUALIFYING – 20pts to 1pt – Grid Position 1 to 20.
BEAT TEAM MATE (QUALIFYING) – 5pts
BEST OF THE REST (QUALIFYING) – 5pts to 1pt – top five non Mercedes-Red Bull drivers
GREAT/GRAPE – 5pts Great 2pts Honourable Mention -2Pts Dishonourable Mention -5Pts Grape
BEAT TEAM MATE (QUALIFYING) Time Gap – Formula for % beaten team mate by
BEAT TEAM MATE (QUALIFYING) Position – 0.5 Pts for every position team mate is beaten by. 0 points for second car.
FREE PRACTICE HERO – 10Pts to 1Pt – Average Position across all three practice sessions.
WIN FROM POLE – Bonus 5 Points
WIN FROM POLE WITH FASTEST LAP – Bonus 10 Points
DNF Not Driver or Team Fault Minus 2 Points
DNF CAUSED BY DRIVER/TEAM INCOMPETENCE Minus 5 Points
SPRINT RACE POINTS – Points 8 to 1 as handed out in the sprint race.
SPRINT RACE CHANGE – 0.5 Points per change in end position to starting position.
SPRINT RACE QUAL – Points 8 to 1 as handed out in the order of qualifying 1st to 8th.
Max Verstappen wins the race, but Lando Norris does enough to win the World Championship for 2025. Talking of winning, our 2025 Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix Result Summary will finish the season in style.
This 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Result, Laps that Matter summary, Review & Ratings gives you just enough to catch up with. With just a hint of cynicism, bias, opinion and colour. The perfect bite sized review for those who couldn’t be bothered, or don’t have enough time.
Didn’t see the race live? Don’t have time to watch the whole race? Here’s where we capture the laps where stuff happened. We write these live as we go, sort of like a minute by minute for the football, but marginally more interesting.
Setting the scene – It’s the perfect scenario for F1 bosses with the three title challengers qualifying 1, 2, 3 and with Max Verstappen in front of Lando Norris to ensure extra tension. Good scenario for McLaren too with Norris ahead of Piastri. Max looked very quick with his qualifying laps on another level. so he looks primed to win, and given Lando only needs a podium, it could be a dull race. But there’s always the first lap and corner. Let the battle begin.
Further back, and not Championship defining, George Russell was 4th but if not for a massive moment on the last corner of his final lap her really could have upset the order. He does look quite quick and could be a real spoiler on raceday. There were good performances from Gabriel Bortoleto for Sauber’s last race under that name, and Esteban Ocon made Q1 for a change. As did Yuki Tsunoda who didn’t set a time and looked to be used by Red Bull only to give Max a tow down the straight. Kimi Antonelli underwhelmed with 14, and Lewis Hamilton secured another Q1 exit. His stint at Ferrari is getting uglier and the end of season break well timed.
McLaren Zak Brown all but confirmed that team orders will kick in to help one McLaren driver win the driver’s title, so that’s bad news for Australian drivers and fans. But also fair enough given the points gap between his two drivers.
Interestingly Oscar Piastri is starting on the hard tyres, with only Yuki Tsunoda of the top ten doing the same. Everyone else is on Mediums. More of a mix further down the grid including Lewis Hamilton in 16th taking on the softs.
It’s a short run down to the first corner, a Championship could be won or lost very quickly.
GRID (Starting Order) – VER NOR PIA RUS LEC ALO BOR OCO HAD TSU
Lap 1 – Max Verstappen gets away well and chops across Lando Norris to keep him at bay, which works. Oscar Piastri gets away good enough to hold onto third, while George Russell loses out to both Charles Leclerc and Fernando Alonso, those two drivers duking it out and eventually finishing to Alonso’s advantage and then Leclerc. Halfway around the lap Oscar Piastri is in the slipstream of Lando Norris and takes him around the outside of the long right hand corner to steal second place, amazing move on hard tyres, such bravery we haven’t seen in a while.
ORDER – VER PIA NOR LEC ALO LEC RUS BOR HAD OCO TSU
Lap 2 – Lando Norris has dropped off a little from the back of Piastri and appears to be developing a nice little train behind him. All of those cars within DRS, so could be trouble for Norris. Long way to go, but a very tentative start indeed.
Lap 3 – George Russell is on the radio complaining about a long brake pedal which isn’t going to help him advance through the field with the speed he showed in qualifying.
Lap 4 – Nothing wrong with the long brake pedal, George Russell goes past Fernando Alonso for fifth. Further in front Charles Leclerc is right on Lando Norris’ tail and putting him under pressure down the straight. Close enough to worry the McLaren for now. Lewis Hamilton meanwhile is showing the Ferrari pace too, up from 16th on the grid to 13th.
Lap 6 – Max Verstappen leads Oscar Piastri by 2.3 seconds, with the Australian 1.5 seconds ahead of his Championship leading team mate in third. Charles Leclerc is under a second to the McLaren, so still a danger. There’s lots of cars within a second of each other behind Fernando Alonso in 6th.
ORDER – VER PIA NOR LEC RUS ALO BOR HAD OCO TSU
Lap 8 – Team radio shows McLaren have asked Oscar Piastri to speed up. Most likely for Norris, who can’t shake Charles Leclerc. Sky F1 agree, of course they do, claiming Norris is losing time in Oscar’s dirty air. McLaren would know more about dirty laundry.
Lap 9 – Lewis Hamilton pits to get rid of the soft tyre he started with. Beaten to the first pit stop of the day by Nico Hulkenberg the previous lap. Alex Albon comes in as well to rid themselves of the soft.
Lap 10 – Oscar Piastri has reduced the gap down to 2.0 seconds while the gap to Lando Norris is 1.8 seconds behind. Small margins of improvement. McLaren opine on the radio that Max Verstappen’s tyres are looking worse than Norris’ tyres. Meanwhile Commentary boffins discuss that Piastri’s hard tyre second placing put Red Bull under pressure by limiting their strategy.
Lap 12 – More movement in the margins, Piastri within 1.8 seconds now and Norris 2.3 seconds behind. At least the McLaren has managed a DRS defying 1.4 seconds to Charles Leclerc in fourth. No other movement within the top ten, although a shout out to Gabriel Bortoleto who is running a solid and excellent 7th place. Meanwhile another rookie Isack Hadjar claim
Lap 14 – Oscar Piastri takes four tenths of a second out of Max Verstappen in one lap, as the potential tyre worries for Max Verstappen may well be true.
Lap 15 – George Russell pits for new tyres to try and undercut Charles Leclerc and maybe Lando Norris. Rookies Isack Hadjar and Ollie Bearman also pits. Russell rejoins in 14th just ahead of Lewis Hamilton and behind Franco Colapinto. Hadjar and Bearman are second and third last. Liam Lawson has also earned himself a five second penalty.
ORDER – VER PIA NOR LEC ALO BOR TSU SAI LAW
Lap 16 – Bortoleto pits from 6th and rejoins 15th, just behind his team mate The Hulk.
Lap 17 – Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc and Fernando Alonso all pit. A nice quick one from McLaren should see him stay ahead of George Russell. He can’t clear all of the Mercedes’ though, as he rejoins 9th behind Kimi Antonelli. Antonelli is the fourth car in a train of vie behind Liam Lawson. Could this be the first set of team tactics coming from the junior Red Bull team?
ORDER – VER PIA OCO TSU LAW STR SAI ANT NOR LEC
Lap 18 – Lando Norris ticks off one carriage of the DRS train, passing Kimi Antonelli, who tries to get him back but falls short. Lando doesn’t waste any time getting past Carlos Sainz either and is quickly up to 7th. Lance Stroll is next, he might be more careful there. But great progress so he isn’t help up too long.
Lap 19 – Amazing driving from Lando Norris who overtakes both Lance Stroll and Liam Lawson at the same time down the back straight. Showing why he has dominated the last quarter of the season and taken the comfortable lead of the Championship into this finale.
Lap 20 – Not sure whether Liam Lawson and Lance Stroll are doing some kind of double act, but Charles Leclerc also overtakes the two cars in one at the end of the week. He is only just over a second behind Norris, with a Red Bull of Yuki Tsunoda ahead. Can smell the team tactics coming. George Russell is through too by lap 22.
ORDER – VER PIA TSU NOR LEC RUS STR ANT HAM HUL
Lap 22 – Gap check – Verstappen to Piastri is 2.4 seconds, while Yuki Tsunoda is 25 seconds behind Oscar Piastri, giving the first two almost a free pitstop for tyres. Norris is within DRS and on current form won’t take long to take third.
Lap 23 – Lando Norris gets past Yuki Tsunoda, but not after the Red Bull driver pushes him wide off the back straight as the McLaren tries to go past. Norris has all four tyres off the track to get past, but Tsunoda also weaved a little in defence, so it will probably be two wrongs don’t make a right. Or not, stewards investigating Tsunoda. And Norris.
Lap 24 – Max Verstappen pits before Lando Norris can use his newly gained Yuki-free freedom. Max rejoins in second five seconds ahead of Lando Norris. Oscar Piastri has 19 seconds to Max Verstappen, and a golden opportunity to build a lead to win this race. He needs to win the race, if he’s a realistic chance of winning the title.
Lap 26 – Charles Leclerc sets fastest lap and is within 2.2 second of Lando Norris. Further ahead, Oscar Piastri’s gap to Max Verstappen has reduced down to 17.5 seconds. He needs to find some pace on those hard tyres.
Lap 28 – Piastri isn’t finding that pace, the gap is down to 16.8 seconds, just as Lando Norris sets fastest lap himself to reduce his Verstappen deficit to 4.4 seconds. It’s not all bad for Piastri who will be on the medium tyre for his last stint compared to a lot of hard tyres. But he needs to balance going long into the race before the stop and not losing too much time.
ORDER – PIA VER NOR LEC TSU RUS STR HAM ALO ANT
Lap 30 – Yuki Tsunoda does get a five second penalty for weaving and pushing Lando Norris off the track, and the McLaren driver’s investigation is cancelled. Tsunoda disagrees, but is was a bit of a tslam dunk penalty. Norris celebrates by clearing out a nice gap to Leclerc of 2.7 seconds. That will do nicely for now, he will be World Champion.
Lap 32 – Oscar Piastri is still leading and the gap is down to 12 seconds, but at least he is going long enough to make that last medium tyre stint work. He hopes. Despite Lando’s pace, Max Verstappen opens up the gap to Norris out to 5.4 seconds. One wonders if the
Lap 33 – Yuki Tsunoda and Kimi Antonelli pit for new tyres.
Lap 34 – Praise from Martin Brundle for Oscar Piastri, who he says “Will be a World Champion one day”. Nice acknowledgment on a good season from Sky F1. And nice to see him on the screen, despite leading it feels like about 30 laps since we’ve seen him. He leads by nine seconds for now, with that final pit stop looming. But at least the Australian has shown some fight in the last two races after some ordinary races prior, which self-sabotaged his own Championships, before McLaren finished the job.
Lap 36 – Piastri still going on those used hard tyres, with the gap to Max Verstappen down to seven seconds. Meanwhile replays show Lewis Hamilton passing Franco Colapinto for 15th, which about sums up the second half of his first season with Ferrari.
Lap 37 – Team radio shows Oscar Piastri finally admitting his tyres are on the way out. TV shows McLaren getting ready for that pitstop. Which given two thirds of the race is over isn’t much of a surprise. The worry could be that Piastri falls behind Charles Leclerc. But he should have the better tyres.
Lap 39 – Alex Albon in last gets a penalty for speeding in the pit lane.
Lap 40 – Charles Leclerc pits, which is good for Oscar Piastri but maybe not for Lando Norris as the Ferrari could get some undercutting pace. Lando Norris does pit on lap 41, so he will cover Charles Leclerc.
Lap 41 – Max Verstappen passes Oscar Piastri for the lead, the McLaren probably stayed out a bit long, compromised by Lando Norris stopping.
Lap 42 – Oscar Piastri finally pits, he’s put onto medium tyres and rejoins second. 25 seconds behind Max Verstappen and five second ahead of Lando Norris. Charles Leclerc passes George Russell for fourth.
Lap 43 – Championship news – with Max Verstappen leading and Lando Norris third he is World Champion. But, if Charles Leclerc is fourth can pass Norris, it will be Max Verstappen. Leclerc is on medium tyres vs Norris on hards. Could there be one final twist left in this season.
ORDER – VER PIA NOR LEC RUS ALO OCO BEA HAM BOR
Lap 44 – Oscar Piastri has the gap down to 23 seconds, not enough to get a win by the end of the race but keeping enough ahead of Lando Norris.
Lap 45 – Piastri asks what he can do to win the race, and his team offer up to keep Max Verstappen outside of a pit stop in front. Piastri immediately sets a fastest lap and the gap is down to 22 seconds. On screen graphics show if Verstappen pits now he ends up a second in front.
Lap 46 – Charles Leclerc sets a fastest lap and reduces the gap to under four seconds. Remember, in current order, if Leclerc steals third place, Verstappen is World Champion. But the Ferrari’s pace doesn’t quite seem enough.
Lap 50 – Max Verstappen doesn’t have a pit stop gap to Oscar Piastri, but he does have an 18 second lead to the McLaren, so he can cruise as much as he likes we guess. As can Lando Norris in third as the battle to Charles Leclerc officially fizzes out.
Lap 52 – Oscar Piastri can officially cancel his Championship plans, as his pursuit of Max Verstappen won’t succeed without a rare error from him. The gap of 16 seconds can only be plugged with incident over the last six laps.
Lap 54 – Lando Norris is actually catching Oscar Piastri and closed to within 2.9 seconds. Surely Oscar will be allowed to keep second place this time.
Lap 56 – The gap between Piastri and Norris reduces by a little more. Needless to say that Piastri isn’t going catch Max Verstappen and win the race.
FINAL LAP – Max Verstappen does what he has to do, winning a third race in a row. Oscar Piastri at least secures some joy in second, but will probably be the same if he won. Lando Norris does enough by crossing the line in third place to win his first World Championship. But do keep in mind, if he didn’t get past Kimi Antonelli in the last race, he would have ended up on equal points with Max Verstappen and lost on race wins. He’s in tears as he crosses the line, and Sky F1 suggest there’s not a dry eye in the house. As long as those houses are in the UK. Tired eyes in Australia may not be as emotional. Lando does donuts as he should. Well done to him, hard to argue he wasn’t the fastest driver for most of the season, if not the most consistent until the end of the season.
FINAL ORDER (Across the line) – VER PIA NOR LEC RUS ALO OCO HAM HUL STR
Here we go through the field and highlight the very best (Great) of the race, and the plodders, the over-ambitious, the out of luck, and simply hopeless (Grape).
These points get added to our Driver of the Season scores. 5 points for a great nomination, and -5 for the worst or grapest driver in the pack. Then it is +2 /-2 for honourable or dishonourable mentions.
THE GREAT-EST – LANDO NORRIS
Not one of his very best races, but does what he needs to do to win the World Championship. Given his finish to the season, it’s hard to argue against him deserving it.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
MAX VERSTAPPEN – Took pole, took the win, showed another outstanding weekend of speed from a car that was barely fourth best earlier in the season. The removal of Christian Horner has been a revelation, and Max’s reputation has been further enhanced this season.
OSCAR PIASTRI – If only he had more weekends like this over the last three months. Whilst not as outrightly fast as he was in Qatar, his move on Lando Norris in the race showed a decisiveness that has been missing recently. Led well liek he knew what he was doing. Sadly the strategy could only get him aa high as second.
CHARLES LECLERC – Some great pace at times, showing Ferrari are completely hopeless. Gave his team mate another thrashing.
FERNANDO ALONSO – Solid pair of sixths for Fernando Alonso in qualifying and the race.
ESTEBAN OCON – A rare Q3 appearance and followed up with points in a rare solid weekend.
THE GRAPE-EST – LEWIS HAMILTON
He did fight back well from 16th on the grid to finish in the points, but being knocked out in Q1 for a third straight race, preceded by throwing it into the wall in P3 rounds off an ordinary first season with Ferrari.
DISHONOURABLE MENTIONS
ALPINE – Qualified second last and last. Finished second last and last.
RACING BULLS – Both drivers showed pace through the weekend but finished third and fourth last.
Was it a good race, loads of action, a tense ending, a surprise result or DNF, or just a big, fat, snooze-fest?
We rate the big race itself, so we know which races to go back and watch in the off season or one to simply remember the winner for the post season quiz nights.
PRE RACE ACTION (FP, QUAL, SPRINT, OFF TRACK etc) – 3 / 5
Loads of fanfare, title chat, swirling rumours about how McLaren are going to screw Oscar Piastri, and the general tension of a three-way title fight.
ON TRACK ACTION (RACE) – 4 / 10
Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc put on some good moves during the race, with Norris overtaking two cars at once in style. Oscar Piastri’s move on Lando Norris at the start of the race was worth a point.
ANY SURPRISES? – 1 / 5
Not really. The race and Championship ended as expected.
SEASON IMPORTANCE – 5 / 5
Championship decided.
ENDING – 1 / 5
Oscar Piastri’s charge on softer tyres didn’t happen, nor did Charles Leclerc potentially Championship spoiling late pit stop.
OVERALL RATING – 14 / 30
Stuff is decided, and it was tense at times, but felt sorted pretty early, so kind of dull.
Worried about team orders? Concerned about strategy? Wondering how much Lewis Hamilton regrets going to Ferrari? Which Championship contender has the best stats of 2025? Then let our 2025 Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix Prix-View answer some of those big questions and more that you didn’t ask for.
The Gurgler’s 2025 Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix Prix-View brings some thoughts on what the race weekend ahead might bring, and we throw in more than a few barely interesting stats.
Essentially a quick summary of what a casual F1 fan needs in the shortest possible time for your convenience.
2025 Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix Prix-view – Race Potential Rating
By Anthony Alessio Tralongo – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=110172274
The Gurgler does like to use some obscure drivers in our Race previews and report, so who better to use than Teo Fabi to determine a race rating system.
So before each race we give a rating out of ten for four key category that are loosely based on each letter of Teo Fabi’s surname. Don’t know who Teo Fabi is, you should.
FAST? 5 / 10 – It’s fast enough in a modern way, with some sweeping corners early and a long straight or two.
ACTION? 6 / 10 – Long straight means overtaking is easier, although sometimes it is harder in title fights like 2010, or very easy like when F1 stewards break rule about lapped cars. Last race of the season with a Championship on the line means there will be tension, if not action.
BIG HISTORY? – 5 / 10 – It’s been around for a while now, but still not a memorable historic track.
INCLEMENT WEATHER? – 2 /10 – The Weather Channel says high 20 degrees and no rain. Nothing to see weather-wise except the occasional storm brewimng at McLaren.5
RACE POTENTIAL RATING 45% – being a Championship decider should make this race more exciting than it normally would have been.
2025 Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix Prix-view – Stats Summary
Want to know if your favourite driver for this weekend is a master of the track or the track is a master of them? Here then are some barely interesting facts and stats.
Driver Stats – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Team Stats – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
History Stats – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
99 = a DNF. Grid position 20 is overstated as that was also used for cars starting in pitlane. Results from all races for long term history and from 2021 from Grid to Race positions. stated.
Season 2025 Team Trends
Here’s a quick look at what’s been happening over the season and in recent races.
Lando v Max v Oscar 2025 Season Stats
How the top three Championship contenders shape up when comparing against some key stats.
F1 2025 Season Stuff
We’ve worked hard getting ready for the 2025 F1 Season, and this is our best work below.
Worth slightly less than a transfer window, worried that a change of manager has made no difference, sporting longer hair than some Man Utd supporters, playing in a formation that was unfashionable and illegal 60 years ago, and somehow getting the full support of the Chairman, it’s our 2025-26 Premier League Predictions Week 14. And it’s a short midweek version because we are disorganized and our tips suck.
Each gameweek in this 2025-26 Premier League season we offer up a stat filled prediction preview, with some barely interesting stats and visuals, just enough to bluff your way through various tipping competitions or betting shops.
We also attempted to guess the final Premier League ladder in advance. Follow the link to that here.
Barely Interesting Stats – 2025-26 Premier League Predictions Week 14 – Stats and Thoughts
Help yourself to a buffet of barely interesting stats, quick one liners and more to help pick a winner.
BEST OF WEEK 14 STATS
Bournemouth are unbeaten in their last seven home games v Everton winning the last four and with a W6 D1 record.
Man City have won their past 18 games v Fulham in the league and cups.
Aston Villa have won all three midweek clashes v Brighton.
Burnley are undefeated at home in midweek to Crystal Palace (W4 D1).
Chelsea have won six midweek games in a row v Leeds.
Liverpool’s record v Sunderland since the start of the Premier League is W21 D11 L3.
Sunderland last beat Liverpool in Liverpool in 1983.
Aside from losing the last game v West Ham at home, Man Utd’s home record v West Ham is W15 D4 L1.
2025-26 Premier League Predictions Week 14
Here’s this week’s selections….
Bournemouth 2 Everton 1
Fulham 0 Man City 3
Newcastle 2 Spurs 1
Wolves 0 Nottingham Forest 0
Arsenal 2 Brentford 2
Brighton 1 Aston Villa 2
Burnley 0 Crystal Palace 0
Leeds 0 Chelsea 2
Liverpool 2 Sunderland 1
Here are The Gurgler’s 2025 Qatar Grand Prix Ratings – our way of rating the performances on the track without causing any red flags or running into our nearest website.
Our G-Power Rankings goes a little bit deeper than just points scored on the Sunday and has a slightly cooler name than most. We take on board Free Practice, Qualifying, performance in relation to teammate, fastest lap, and a few more stats that are attempting to highlight a driver outperforming the car and/or thrashing their teammate.
We offer up a season long bunch of stats, enough to distract you until the next Grand Prix comes along, and enough to tell the story of the 2025 F1 season so far.
2025 Qatar Grand Prix Race Result Summary
2025 Qatar Grand Prix Ratings – Drivers
Here are the current overall standings for our Driver of the Year winner – the Martini Medal. Named in honour of one of F1’s most unsung heroes – Pierluigi Martini of Minardi fame.
We have the overall scores as they stand, plus a visual which shows the flow of each driver’s position throughout the season, plus a few points of interest below.
Here is the breakdown of the Driver of the Year points from the most recent race and the season so far. Remembering our ratings go across a whole weekend, so the race winner who may not have had a great qualifying or sprint race may not come out on top.
LATEST RACE RATINGS & DRIVER OF THE YEAR UPDATE
2025 QatarGrand Prix Ratings – Teams
This is essentially using the same drivers stats but in reverse for the worst score, but taking out anything that is a H2H between the drivers.
And our annual award focuses on the other end of the grid, highlighting the worst team of the season.
Of course, the worst team of the season award needs to be named after the worst F1 team of all time. And if you want to fund out more about Andrea Moda, follow this link.
LATEST RACE & SEASON RATINGS
Alpine have nearly sealed the Andrea Moda Medal for 2025.
Here is the best of the stats from the 2025 F1 season so far. Which we admit isn’t much, but stay tuned throughout the year for more.
H2H
Here is the ultimate H2H comparison, with the overall qualifying and race measures, plus one that calculates all official sessions across the weekend.
QUALIFYING – DRIVERS
With qualifying becoming all important, here are some key stats from the season that is.
QUALIFYING – TEAM
And some Teams trends too.
FASTEST LAP
It may be a token win, so here is a token bunch of stats.
1ST LAP PROGRESS
The movers and shakers of 2025 F1 Season.
FREE PRACTICE
Some say Free Practice is a giant waste of time, and they are probably right. Regardless here is the average position for each drivers in Free Practice this season. Each round an average of all the sessions.
OTHER STATS
A few bits and pieces too good not to share.
2025 F1 Season Power Rankings – Points Explanation
Here’s how the points work this season. Essentially the perfect race (Win from Pole, Fastest Lap, thrash team mate, best in race etc) should amount to the perfect 100 points.
FIRST LAP GAINS +0.5pts per position gained -0.5pts per position lost.
CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS – 25pts to 1pt as per World Championship – Sprint Race Points added.
BEAT TEAM MATE (RACE) – 10pts (if both finish or other driver got self inflicted DNF)
FASTEST LAP – 5pts – 1pt for top five drivers.
GRID POSITION TO RACE POSITION – formula +/- relative finish to grid
BEST OF THE REST (RACE) – 5pts to 1pt – top five non Mercedes-Red Bull drivers
QUALIFYING – 20pts to 1pt – Grid Position 1 to 20.
BEAT TEAM MATE (QUALIFYING) – 5pts
BEST OF THE REST (QUALIFYING) – 5pts to 1pt – top five non Mercedes-Red Bull drivers
GREAT/GRAPE – 5pts Great 2pts Honourable Mention -2Pts Dishonourable Mention -5Pts Grape
BEAT TEAM MATE (QUALIFYING) Time Gap – Formula for % beaten team mate by
BEAT TEAM MATE (QUALIFYING) Position – 0.5 Pts for every position team mate is beaten by. 0 points for second car.
FREE PRACTICE HERO – 10Pts to 1Pt – Average Position across all three practice sessions.
WIN FROM POLE – Bonus 5 Points
WIN FROM POLE WITH FASTEST LAP – Bonus 10 Points
DNF Not Driver or Team Fault Minus 2 Points
DNF CAUSED BY DRIVER/TEAM INCOMPETENCE Minus 5 Points
SPRINT RACE POINTS – Points 8 to 1 as handed out in the sprint race.
SPRINT RACE CHANGE – 0.5 Points per change in end position to starting position.
SPRINT RACE QUAL – Points 8 to 1 as handed out in the order of qualifying 1st to 8th.
Max Verstappen wins the Qatar Grand Prix after being handed a win to a degree with McLaren making a strategy error and costing themselves a 1-2 and effectively costing Oscar Piastri a decent chance at the driver’s title in the process. Talking of stinking, our 2025 Qatar F1 Grand Prix Result Summary will probably be on the nose.
This 2025 Qatar Grand Prix Result, Laps that Matter summary, Review & Ratings gives you just enough to catch up with. With just a hint of cynicism, bias, opinion and colour. The perfect bite sized review for those who couldn’t be bothered, or don’t have enough time.
Didn’t see the race live? Don’t have time to watch the whole race? Here’s where we capture the laps where stuff happened. We write these live as we go, sort of like a minute by minute for the football, but marginally more interesting.
Setting the scene – The Championship remains alive after a Sprint Race where Oscar Piastri came alive and overturned his recent on track dip in form with a pole position and win. He took that momentum into Qualifying and secured pole position for the main race too. Lando Norris was third in the Sprint Race, dropping two points to Piastri but gaining one on Max Verstappen. This leaves Max Verstappen 25 points behind Lando Norris, and he must now finish ahead of Norris in the race. He qualified third behind the McLarens, and needs to get in front quick, which could make for an interesting start.
Other notables from Sprint Race / Qualifying was the lack of performance from Ferrari – 13th and 17th in the Sprint Race and 10th and 18th for Qualifying. Also notable was the two rookies showing them how to do it, with Antonelli 5th and Hadjar. Yuki Tsunoda was a surprise 5th in the Sprint Race and a less surprising Q1 exit in Qualifying.
GRID (Starting Order) – PIA NOR VER RUS ANT HAD SAI ALO GAS LEC
Lap 1 – A very short gap between the five red lights going on and off potentially catches out Lando Norris who loses second place to Max Verstappen into turn. Pole sitter Oscar Piastri keeps the lead ahead and clears out quickly. George Russell has a shocker and drops from 4th to 7th, with Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso the big movers in the top ten. Hadjar also drops from 6th to 8th. The worst three starters all came from the dirty side of the grid. Lewis Hamilton’s race has at least started ok, up from 18th to 14th.
Meanwhile out front Oscar Piastri has a 1.3 second lead after one lap.
ORDER – PIA VER NOR ANT SAI ALO RUS HAD GAS LEC
Lap 5 – Oscar Piastri’s lead is out to 2.4 seconds, with Lando Norris another two seconds behind Max Verstappen. This means Piastri will reduce the Championship lead to 12 points and Verstappen to 22 points. Both margins keep Lando Norris in the driver’s seat heading into the last race, so Norris appears to have this in mind so far.
Lap 7 – A Sauber has gone off surrounded by bits of foam and tyre marks. Cue the footage of a slowly moving Alpine of Pierre Gasly who Hulkenberg has been chasing. Replays show it’s a real 50-50 going into turn one. Hulkenberg appears to be far enough ahead around the outside of turn one, but did he turn in too quickly onto Gasly? Let the stewards sort that one out.
They say no further action. Which is probably fair enough.
SAFETY CAR DEPLOYED
Red Bull pit Max Verstappen but the leading McLarens stay out. In fact the majority of the field pit except for Esteban Ocon, and Nico Hulkenberg’s broken Sauber. Have McLaren stuffed up here? Lando Norris on the radio seems to think so. His team say it means the other teams lose flexibility on strategy,
Esteban Ocon receives a five second penalty for moving before the lights at the start, so he comes in to pit for new tyres and a penalty anyway.
ORDER – PIA NOR VER SAI ANT ALO HAD RUS LEC BEA
SAFETY CAR EXITS
Lap 11 – Oscar Piastri bunches them up nicely for the restart and flies off early and it pays dividends giving him a big enough lead into turn one not to be annoyed by anyone. No real action further down the grid for overtaking on the restart, which is mildly disappointing. By the end of the lap Oscar Piastri has 1.2 on Norris, who has 1.9 on Verstappen.
ORDER – PIA NOR VER SAI ANT ALO HAD RUS LEC BEA
Lap 15 – Piastri’s lead to Norris is out to 2.2 seconds with about the same further back to Verstappen in third. A bit closer is the train of cars settling in behind Fernando Alonso in 6th down to almost the back of the field. Towards the back of the pack is Lance Stroll, which isn’t surprising, nor is the stewards note about an investigation of a yellow flag infringement.
Lap 18 – McLaren drivers being told to get moving as they probably won’t have a big enough gap to rejoin ahead of the train of cars. They need to pit by lap 25 as per the rule of tyres not being able to do more than 25 laps for this race, due to potential extreme heat. The heat is on McLaren now after not pitting under the Safety Car. They could hand the race to Max Verstappen. They need Fernado Alonso to go just that little bit slower.
Lap 20 – Oscar Piastri is 3.5 seconds ahead of Lando Norris now, and he has 4.5 seconds on Max Verstappen. Looks like Piastri has 23 seconds on Alonso, so on current pace will be safe in getting out in front of Alonso. Carlos Sainz is 16 seconds behind in fourth, which be even more ideal for Piastri.
Lap 24 – One of the McLarens has to pit this lap, who will it be? Looks like the leader Piastri. It’s a slowish 3.1 second stop, and Piastri rejoins just ahead of Fernando Alonso by about a second or two, which means Lando Norris will likely rejoin in that train.
Lap 25 – Lando Norris pits from the lead, and his stop takes 2.2 seconds, he may need that extra second. It sure does help, he comes out in front of Alonso. McLaren have just dodged a bullet here from not pitting under the Safety Car. Max Verstappen leads now, but wasn’t showing any great pace behind the McLarens. But it is Max Verstappen.
ORDER – VER SAI ANT PIA NOR ALO HAD RUS LEC BEA
Lap 27 – Oscar Piastri sets fastest lap to continue his good run at this track tonight and should catch Kimi Antonelli in a lap or so for third. Lanco Stroll does get a penalty for pit lane speeding – fast in the wrong place – classic Stroll.
Lap 30 – Oscar Piastri sails past Kimi Antonelli into turn one to take third, and he isn’t far away from Carlos Sainz either. Those non McLarens being on much older tyres. But at least Piastri is confident and fast. It has been a long time since he looked this impressive.
Lap 32 – While the McLarens try to deal with Sainz and Antonelli, Max Verstappen is being told to pit. He has a lead of 18 seconds to Sainz, so won’t have enough to keep the lead. He pits on lap 33 and rejoins third, as Sainz, Antonelli, Alonso and everyone behind him pit for new tyres. No real change in order except for Esteban Ocon, and he pits a few laps later and drops down the field.
ORDER – PIA NOR VER SAI ANT OCO ALO HAD RUS LEC
Lap 34 – McLarens now need to get a big enough lead to Max Verstappen to make their mandatory second tyre stop. Piastri has 4.7 to Norris and Norris has 3.2 second to Max Verstappen. Needless to say that isn’t enough, and they have to pit by laps 49/50. Third will probably be enough for Norris in his Championship situation. Piastri needs to win.
Lap 38 – Replays show Lando Norris having a moment and losing a bit of time. Max Verstappen is now within two seconds and catching. No way he can clear the Red Bull for a pit stop now, although third should be sweet and Carloss Sainz is 20 seconds behind Max Verstappen. Further ahead Oscar Piastri has seven second to Lando Norris and just under nine to Verstappen. That’s not going to be enough to keep the lead. Max Verstappen is in the best position to win this race now. One wonders how hard Norris defends second place from Verstappen, it might be better for him if Verstappen wins. A crash suits neither, so presume they will play nice.
Lap 41 – Oscar Piastri has a sliding moment as well out in front. He can’t increase his lead by enough to clear Verstappen. So in effect McLaren have cost Piastri seven point in the Championship battle. Sounds like latter 2025 McLaren.
Lap 42 – Oscar Piastri pits for new hard tyres, rejoins in third. 16.6 second behind Max Verstappen with 14 laps to go. Of course Lando Norris leading could help his team mate by blocking Max Verstappen for as long as possible. Would be nice to see something go Piastri’s way from Lando Norris. At least the Piastri pit stop was a very rapid 1.8 seconds.
Lap 45 – Lando Norris pits. He rejoins fifth behind Sainz and Antonelli. On newer tyres Norris should clear them easy enough, but McLaren have made this race very hard work.
Lap 46 – Replays show Fernando Alonso doing a full 360 spin and rejoining losing only two places. And Hadjar and Russell battling for 6th. Hadjar runs Russell off the road, with Russell being warned about track limits, for previous discretions. Further ahead replay of Norris having a big moment that on another track or another driver would have ended in a spin.
Lap 47 – Piastri is within 14.5 second of Max Verstappen, so catching but not quite fast enough you’d think to get close enough and be fast enough to pass.
ORDER – VER PIA SAI ANT NOR HAD RUS ALO LEC STR
As the Championship stands the gap from Norris to Verstappen will be reduced to 10 points and Piastri’s deficit is 14 points. So in effect, McLaren’s strategy has further opened the door to Max Verstappen stealing the title. One does wonder why they didn’t go conservative with the lead they had.
Lap 51 – Even with DRS down the main straight Lando Norris can’t get past Kimi Antonelli, but it shouldn’t take too much longer. Further ahead Carlos Sainz is complaining of understeer, he is currently trying to get a big enough gap to keep his podium with a looming Norris coming.
Lap 52 – Antonelli stays ahead of Norris again going into turn one. Carlos Sainz is just two seconds further ahead, so third still possible for Norris with five laps left.
Lap 53 – No pass on Antonelli by Norris as the Mercedes edges closer to Sainz. Up front Max Verstappen leads with a gap of just under 12 seconds. Piastri has done well, but not well enough for victory.
Lap 55 – Norris still behind Antonelli and looks a carbon copy of every other lap for the last ten minutes. Close enough, but not quite. Every point could matter in the Championship.
Lap 56 – No pass this time either. One more chance next lap. He doesn’t need it, as Kimi Antonelli slides wide halfway around the lap and Norris takes fourth place and two valuable points.
FINAL LAP – Max Verstappen cruises around the final lap and takes yet another Qatar Grand Prix win, with an assist from McLaren strategy. Oscar Piastri gets within eight seconds in the end, which further highlights how stupid the McLaren strategy was. Carlos Sainz holds on for his second Williams podium. Lando Norris ends up fourth which may just be enough for the Championship.
FINAL ORDER (Across the line) – VER PIA SAI NOR ANT RUS ALO LEC LAW TSU
Here we go through the field and highlight the very best (Great) of the race, and the plodders, the over-ambitious, the out of luck, and simply hopeless (Grape).
These points get added to our Driver of the Season scores. 5 points for a great nomination, and -5 for the worst or grapest driver in the pack. Then it is +2 /-2 for honourable or dishonourable mentions.
THE GREAT-EST – OSCAR PIASTRI
OK, so he didn’t end up with the result he wanted, and deserved, but was fastest from Sprint Qualifying to halfway through the race, he looked dominant. He this kind of weekend badly and his recent downturn in form, although could have done without the end result.
The worry for Oscar Piastri now is, he is behind Max Verstappen in the Championship heading into the final race, and McLaren could try and protect their team winning the driver’s title and ask/demand he help Norris instead of looking after himself. He is kind of screwed. A shame, as he was the fastest driver this weekend.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
MAX VERSTAPPEN – Given the opportunity to win the Qatar Grand Prix due to McLaren strategy, and as ever doesn’t need to be asked twice. Impressive pace in the second half of the race to keep Piastri into second. Helps himself to halving the Championship gap going into the final race.
CARLOS SAINZ – A second Williams podium in a strong second half of the season for Sainz, who is further enhancing his reputation, and is probably happy to be driving a Williams instead of the current Ferrari.
KIMI ANTONELLI – Another solid weekend, building a nice end to the season in his rookie season.
LIAM LAWSON – A couple of points might see him keep his drive for 2026.
YUKI TSUNODA – A point is nice, and decent Sprint Race too, but neither will get him a drive in 2027.
THE GRAPE-EST – McLAREN
The decision not to pit under the Safety Car cost them victory for sure, and probably a 1-2. While that may suit Norris a little, it costs Piastri seven points in the Championship battle and gives Max Verstappen a leg up. A second race of nonsense from McLaren.
Put this into perspective, if McLaren finish 1-2, even with Piastri winning and Norris second, third would have kicked Verstappen out of the Championship battle. Instead, he’s within 12 points and on a roll.
Oscar Piastri’s radio post-race proves he isn’t happy, nor is Lando Norris in the paddock.
DISHONOURABLE MENTIONS
LANDO NORRIS – Underwhelmed a little this weekend as maybe the Championship battle slowed him down a bit. Team strategy didn’t help.
FERRARI – Looked midfield at best.
LEWIS HAMILTON – Looks worse than midfield, and a Q1 exit for the second race in a row.
GEORGE RUSSELL – After a solid Sprint Race, Russell had an underwhelming main race day. Finishing well behind his team mate Antonelli.
NICO HULKENBERG – Lost a couple of points today with a clash with Gasly.
Was it a good race, loads of action, a tense ending, a surprise result or DNF, or just a big, fat, snooze-fest?
We rate the big race itself, so we know which races to go back and watch in the off season or one to simply remember the winner for the post season quiz nights.
PRE RACE ACTION (FP, QUAL, SPRINT, OFF TRACK etc) – 2 / 5
Even with a sprint race, the Qatar Grand Prix is a bit dull. Off track interest relating to Oscar Piastri saying no to helping Lando Norris in the Championship, and Max Verstappen telling him not to as well.
ON TRACK ACTION (RACE) – 2 / 10
There was a certain amount of tension because of the Championship fight, and McLaren’s alternative strategy, but the overtaking was virtually non existent, with trains forming for most of the race. And tension isn’t really action.
ANY SURPRISES? – 2 / 5
The Nico Hulkenberg-Pierre Gasly clash bringing out the Safety Car did bring the race’s biggest surprise. No, not that crash, but McLaren being the only team not to pit for new tyres under the Safety Car.
SEASON IMPORTANCE – 5 / 5
It takes the Championship race to the final race in Abu Dhabi. And Max Verstappen is now closer than Oscar Piastri.
ENDING – 3 / 5
The Lando Norris vs Kimi Antonelli battle was interesting enough, but sadly the battle for first was close enough.
OVERALL RATING – 14 / 30
A box ticked for the F1 season, on a track that is hard to get too excited about.
They say there can only be winners and losers in sport, but of course they’re wrong and they’re fools, there’s always another results, a special one for learned sporting fans – the draw. And who doesn’t love a draw where everyone wins. Those winners include canny punters who look for value, and The Gurgler website is always happy to help with opinion and stats, so welcome to our Football Draws Predictions – 28 November to 3 December.
Our resident draw expert Frankington Stanley runs his keen eye over the many football divisions around the world to find the best draws for you. He’s sort of like the John West of Football draws, he hates Dog Salmon and lop sided fixtures.
Frankington Stanley is not fussy, no country or continent is out of bounds, and the more obscure the better. And some of them are quite obscure. They don’t even feature on the Who Scored website.
So grab an oversized spoon for another weekly serving of the finest Football Draw tips from all over the world, where The Gurgler and Frankington Stanley take the stale out of stalemate.
The last game played between these sides this season ended 0-0. They played each other twice at Livingston last season and the result was 0-0. No goals, and no reason not to support the draw here. If that’s not enough for you Livingston have drawn 5/13 games this season and their last at home.
Football Draws Predictions – Best of the Rest
Italy » Serie A – 2025/2026 » Lecce-Torino
Kick off:11:30-Sun, 30-Nov-25
Two lower half teams in patchy form in Serie A usually means it is a good chance of a draw. Two games ago these teams drew 0-0. Lecce are 18th overall and have yet to win at home this season D3 L3. Three of their last four home games ended in a stalemate. Better still, the last three away games for Torino ended in a draw. The last one was a 0-0 draw at Juventus, which is a goodun.
Italy » Serie B – 2025/2026 » Cesena-Modena
Kick off:19:30 – Fri, 28-Nov-25
A Friday Night special from second division in Italy – Serie B. High flying Modena in second visit Cesena who have drawn three of their last four away games. Two of the five home games for Cesena this season have ended 1-1, and tow of the last three games at Cesena v Modena have ended in a draw.
Spain » LaLiga – 2025/2026 » Levante-Athletic Club
Kick off:17:30 – Sat, 29-Nov-25
The last three games between these sides have ended in a draw after 90 minutes. One of those games went on to need extra time, but you don’t need extra time to think about considering this game as a draw.
Spain » Segunda División – 2025/2026 – Cordoba-Cadiz
Kick off:17:30 – Sun, 30-Nov-25
Both of these have a 50% strike rate for draws away from home, which works for Cordoba this week with their W1 D4 L2 record away. Two of those D’s were the last two away games.
Poland » I Liga – 2025/2026 » Ruch Chorzow-Puszcza Niepolomice
Kick off:18:30 – Sat, 29-Nov-25
The last three games between these teams ended in a draw, and real royal sampler too, 1-1, 0-0 and 2-2. Something for everyone. Ruch Chorzow are pretty solid at home with a W6 D1 L2 record, but Puszcza Niepolomice’s away record reads W2 D4 L1.
