'Oh s***!': Lewis Hamilton was all of us reacting to Qatar title drama

Lewis Hamilton was left bewildered at the Qatar Grand Prix when he was informed how the race had shaped the F1 title fight.

Starting P17 on the grid after a Q1 exit in qualifying, Hamilton only managed to fight back to P12 in Qatar and was well out of the loop when it came to the leaders during Sunday's race.

McLaren made a strategic error on Lap 7, choosing not to pit Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri when the safety car came out, only for the rest of the field to flock into the pits which gave Max Verstappen a free pit stop and allowed him to win the race.

However, when Hamilton returned to the media pen after the race, the champion was not aware of the implications in the title race and couldn't conceal his shock when he was informed on the title battle.

Hamilton originally asked: "So, Oscar's how far behind? How's Max 12 behind now?"

"Max won? Oh s***, I didn't know, I had no idea!" he responded when informed of proceedings.

"Holy s***! Wow! I thought Piastri won... Well, that's exciting! It goes right to the last — to the wire."

Hamilton praises Verstappen

"We all know Max does a great job," Hamilton continued to the media.

"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."

Following the Qatar GP, Verstappen is 12 points behind Lando Norris in the drivers' standings, with McLaren team-mate Piastri 16 points behind the leader.

F1 Title Scenarios: How Max Verstappen can win the championship in Abu Dhabi

Related