Max Verstappen has been vocal about this, his nationality plays a role in his actions on track being looked at and punished -too harshly- by the FIA Stewards. So, in Qatar, while the Dutchman was battling against Lando Norris for the lead of the race,

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen wins a dramatic Qatar Grand Prix that was brought to life by two mid-race safety cars and a penalty for McLaren’s Lando Norris.

Lando Norris was penalized with a 10-second stop-go penalty at the 2024 Qatar GP as the McLaren driver failed to slow down under a double waved yellow.

Lando Norris joked that Max Verstappen should go into comedy after the Red Bull driver claimed he would have won this year’s F1 world title sooner if he was driving in a McLaren. Verstappen sealed his fourth successive world championship in Las Vegas last weekend, with Norris now unable to catch him with two rounds remaining in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

Lando Norris ignored team orders and handed his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri the sprint race in Qatar on Saturday, while Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen was stripped of the pole position. His penalty elevated George Russell to first on the grid.

In a chaotic Qatar Grand Prix that saw multiple drivers' races affected by penalties, McLaren saw their hopes of winning the Constructors' Championship in Lusail dashed after Lando Norris was hit with a controversial stop-and-go penalty after ignoring yellow flags because of debris on the track.