A rogue mirror and the failure of race officials to clear it off the track has been deemed "dangerous" by a former world champion, and blown Formula 1's constructors' championship wide open.
Max Verstappen produced a champion drive to claim his ninth grand prix win of the season in Qatar on Monday morning, AEDT, ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and McLaren's Oscar Piastri.
But the race was dramatically affected by a rogue side mirror that flew off the Williams car of Alex Albon midway through the grand prix.
The mirror sat in the middle of the main straight at the Losail Circuit for several laps with officials not calling a safety car to clear it.
When the mirror was run over by a Sauber and exploded across the circuit, chaos in Qatar followed.
Ferrari's Carlos Sainz and Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton almost immediately suffered punctured tyres after appearing to drive over the debris.
That took Sainz out of the battle for a podium, and Hamilton out of a points position.
Only then was a safety car called by race officials, something former F1 world champion Jenson Button said should not have taken as long.
"They're doing over 200 miles an hour at that point of the circuit, and to get a puncture, at that speed, it's dangerous," Button said while commentating for UK broadcaster Sky F1.
"It's so disappointing for these guys fighting out there for position, giving it their all, and then it's taken away from a puncture from a rogue mirror on the circuit that shouldn't have been there."
Meanwhile, Ferrair narrowed the gap to McLaren as the constructors' championship goes down to the season finale next weekend in Abu Dhabi.
McLaren looked at one point like they could secure the title for the first time since 1998, with Norris running in second and contending Verstappen for the race win.
But Norris was handed a 10-second stop-go penalty for not slowing down under yellow flags which were being waived for the strewn mirror.
Norris was able to salvage 10th place and the fastest lap of the race to score two — potentially vital — points.
Leclerc's second and a sixth-place finish for Sainz narrowed Ferrari's deficit to McLaren to 21 points, with a maximum of 44 points left in Abu Dhabi.
At the front, the drivers' champion Verstappen was sensational.
Starting second after having pole position taken from him due to a penalty in qualifying, Verstappen flew off the starting grid and snatched the lead into the first corner.
Norris was able to climb from third to second as pole-sitter George Russell was squeezed out at the opening corner.
Verstappen had Norris's measure in the opening stint, but seemed under pressure from the McLaren after the second of three safety car restarts on Monday.
But once Norris went in for his penalty it was smooth sailing for the four-time champion.
"It was a very good race, the car was a lot better. That first stint was very, very fast — me and Lando were pushing each other, always within 1.8 seconds and it was a lot of fun out there," Verstappen said.
"It's been a while in the dry since we've been this competitive.
"The last few years we've been competitive [in Abu Dhabi] so hopefully we can fight for a win there again."
The final race of the season will be held in Abu Dhabi next weekend.
