The Formula One season moves on to the Qatar Grand Prix this weekend following an eventful race in Las Vegas last week. Max Verstappen clinched victory for Red Bull to close the gap to Lando Norris at the top of the Drivers' Championship standings.

McLaren star Norris still has a 24-point lead over his team-mate Oscar Piastri and Verstappen. However, the McLaren duo gave Verstappen increased hope of claiming a fifth world title after both drivers were disqualified in the USA. Having won last year's Qatar GP, Verstappen will aim to repeat his success as the title race heats up ahead of the penultimate race of the campaign. Here, Express Sport takes a look at some of the stories surrounding F1.

Jos Verstappen has claimed that McLaren will begin to feel the pressure as the season starts to draw to a close. He highlighted that his son Max will be unable to claim the championship if Norris finishes in second across the remaining races. However, Verstappen Snr also believes McLaren are making a mistake that could cost them the title.

"The pressure at McLaren is now on and they will feel it," he said. "It is still the case that if Max wins the remaining races and Norris finishes second every time, Norris will become world champion.

"But Oscar Piastri is also still there and he won't be very happy at the moment either. You can see a clear difference between the two McLarens on the track.

"This is a big mistake by McLaren, a huge blunder, yes. Because why would you really sit on the limit like that? Maybe it was really a mistake, but maybe the car just doesn't work as well and they have to do this."

Lewis Hamilton has endured an underwhelming first season with Ferrari as he still awaits his first podium spot. He qualified in last place for the Las Vegas GP before recovering to eighth and recently described it as "the worst season ever". However, team principal Frederic Vasseur disagreed with his driver and offered a different perspective.

"It's difficult, but if you have a look at the last couple of races it's a matter of penalty as he was able to be on the podium," Vasseur said.

"I don't think that we have to change completely. It's more a matter of putting everything together. We are struggling to have a clean weekend.

"It's not only pure performance. For sure we have to improve on performance, this is clear, but it's more about the way you build up the weekend and how you manage expectations and track operations."