DPA

Doha

Lewis Hamilton claimed an emphatic victory from pole at the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday while rival Max Verstappen recovered well from a grid penalty to finish second but saw his Formula One championship lead further shrink.Back-to-back wins for the defending and seven-time champion Hamilton in Brazil and Qatar have moved him within eight points, with two races left in a fortnight in Saudi Arabia and on December 12 in Abu Dhabi.Verstappen also salvaged the extra point for fastest lap in some good damage limitation on the day. Hamilton claimed his seventh season win and 102nd overall ahead of Verstappen on the flood-lit Losail International Circuit where his Mercedes had already been superior to Verstappen's Red Bull in qualifying.

Veteran ex-champion Fernando Alonso, 40, was third for Alpine for his first podium since the Hungary race in 2014. Alonso returned to F1 this season after two years in other motorsport events. Verstappen was hit with a five-place grid penalty earlier Sunday and Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas lost three shortly before the start as stewards ruled both had ignored yellow flags in qualifying – dropping Verstappen from second to seventh and Bottas from third to sixth.

"I'm really grateful for the points, it's been a hell of a year," Hamilton said.

"To be at this point in the season and have back-to-back wins is a great, great feeling and puts us in good stead for the next two. "It was pretty straight-forward, it was pretty lonely at the front. Of course I enjoy those races where you're battling through but we needed those points today."

Verstappen said: "Our starting position was a bit compromised but we had a really good start and then came back to second. I know it's going to be difficult to the end but that keeps it exciting. It's going to be a tight battle until the end."

Hamilton handily won the start while Alonso got past the Alpha Tauri of Pierre Gasly, who had moved into the front row alongside Hamilton after the penalties for Verstappen and Bottas.

Verstappen took just five laps to recover from seventh to second, but he got nowhere close to Hamilton, even after trying to cut the deficit after the first round of pit stops, saying on team radio: "Let's have some fun."

Hamilton's lead of around eight seconds remained unchanged through the second round of stops.