Verstappen collided with Leclerc and twice with Mercedes' George Russell after the safety car restart.
Oscar Piastri led McLaren teammate and Formula One title rival Lando Norris at the top of the timesheets in sole practice for the Qatar Grand Prix on Friday.
Each of the three title contenders had them in 2025: Norris might have had an easier run to his first crown had he not driven into the back of Piastri's car and retired in Canada three laps from the end.
McLaren's Oscar Piastri ended a long win drought with a pole-to-flag victory in the Qatar Grand Prix sprint race in Doha.
The Briton goes into Sunday's title decider in Abu Dhabi 12 points clear of Red Bull's Max Verstappen with McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri a further four behind.
Lando Norris can be crowned champion on Sunday but a win for Oscar Piastri would take the battle down to a final showdown in Abu Dhabi next weekend.
Four-times World champion Max Verstappen was given an aerodynamic tow by teammate Yuki Tsunoda to go top on his first flying lap.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen won the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Saturday but McLaren's Lando Norris had one hand on the Formula One title after finishing second and stretching his lead over teammate Oscar Piastri to 30 points.
Lando Norris stretched his Formula One championship lead to nine points after winning Saturday's Sao Paulo sprint while McLaren teammate and title rival Oscar Piastri crashed in a big blow to the Australian's bid to get back on top.
Formula One will crown its champion in Abu Dhabi on Sunday with McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri both seeking to dethrone Red Bull's Max Verstappen and deny the Dutchman his fifth title in a row.
Lewis Hamilton has dismissed suggestions of friction within Ferrari after team chairman John Elkann's recent comments that he and teammate Charles Leclerc should "focus on driving and talk less".
McLaren's Formula One leader Lando Norris called himself an idiot after crashing in Saudi Arabian Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday, and he stuck by the self-criticism when talking to reporters afterwards.
Australian Piastri, winner of four of the last five races, lapped the Imola circuit with a fastest time of one minute 16.545 seconds on the softest tyre compound with Norris 0.032 slower on a sunny afternoon.
The reason for doing so was not disclosed in the statement.
Norris last led the standings in April, a gap of 189 days, and had not won a race since Hungary in early August. Sunday was his sixth victory of the season, one less than Piastri, and career 10th.
Max Verstappen seized pole position for Sunday's US Grand Prix while Formula One leader Oscar Piastri qualified sixth after a costly sprint race collision with his McLaren teammate Lando Norris.
Hamilton clarifies remarks, says he remains committed to Ferrari project
An unhappy Lewis Hamilton said his first season with Ferrari had been the worst of his career after he started last in Las Vegas and finished 10th.
Piastri now leads Britain's Norris by 14 points with five rounds and two sprints remaining, while Verstappen has slashed his gap to the Australian to 40 after being 104 behind at the end of August.
Red Bull's four-times World champion Max Verstappen gave his fans fresh hope -- at least for some of the afternoon -- with a stirring and spirited fightback at Interlagos.
George Russell took Mercedes' first win of the Formula One season in Canada on Sunday while McLaren's Oscar Piastri went 22 points clear in the championship after teammate Lando Norris smashed into him and retired.
F1 leader Oscar Piastri seized pole position from teammate and title rival Lando Norris by a hefty margin as dominant McLaren locked out the front row in Spanish Grand Prix.
Australian Oscar Piastri roared back from season-opening disappointment in his home race by winning the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix from pole position in a McLaren one-two with championship-leading teammate Lando Norris on Sunday.
With eight points on offer to the winner of Saturday's 100km race, he and Norris -- 22 points behind Piastri -- both have a good chance to reduce the gap to the Australian who was three tenths slower than his teammate.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen secured a dominant win from pole position in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku, leading the race from start to finish.
George Russell wins F1's Singapore GP as McLaren secures constructors' title
A fired-up Max Verstappen ended his barren run as he outclassed the McLarens to register a dominant victory at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza on Sunday.
Norris had shown his pace in final practice when he became the third different driver to top the timesheets in the three sessions, punching out an impressive lap 0.345 faster than anyone else.
McLaren's Oscar Piastri celebrated pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix, his 50th Formula One race, while dejected championship-leading teammate Lando Norris qualified sixth and said he had been "clueless on track".
Monday will be the anniversary of Ferrari's last Formula One victory and Leclerc, who was on provisional pole until Norris put in a storming late lap, said it would mean a lot to win.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen won the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday with the battle for the constructor's title going down to next weekend's Abu Dhabi season-ender
Oscar Piastri won the Dutch Grand Prix to take a mighty 34 point lead in the Formula One championship on Sunday as McLaren teammate and title rival Lando Norris saw his hopes go up in smoke.
Lewis Hamilton will launch his bid to win the drivers' championship at a third F1 team when he makes his much-anticipated debut for Ferrari in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
Lando Norris won the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday to deliver McLaren's first Formula One constructors' title since 1998
Lewis Hamilton will bring down the curtain on his Mercedes career in Abu Dhabi on Sunday as his past and future Formula One teams, McLaren and Ferrari, fight for a constructors' title to end years of waiting.
McLaren could clinch their first constructors' crown since 1998 on Sunday if they outscore Ferrari by 21 points at the Qatar F1 Grand Prix.
Norris's teammate Oscar Piastri, who spun off and finished ninth in his home race last Sunday after starting on the front row and challenging for the lead, has another good chance to rev up his season.
McLaren's Oscar Piastri beat teammate and title rival Lando Norris in a rain-delayed Belgian Grand Prix to stretch his Formula One lead to 16 points.
McLaren's Lando Norris took an emphatic pole position at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix on Sunday after Red Bull rival Max Verstappen qualified only 17th in a wet and crash-strewn session at Interlagos.
Lando Norris led a McLaren front row sweep in qualifying for the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Saturday
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