Max Verstappen won the 2023 title ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, contributing to the F1 GP victory in Qatar.
Even before the start of the F1 GP in Qatar, Carlos Sainz was forced to retire due to a fuel leak in his Ferrari. As parts were replaced by Red Bull, Sergio Perez had to start from the pit lane as FIA stint limits posed an additional challenge for drivers.
Due to the curbs, drivers had to complete 18 laps per stint, and drivers had to stop more or less reliably three times. It was a clean start for Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who was leading the Qatar F1 GP, but there was a collision with a Mercedes next to him.
Lewis Hamilton started on soft tires and entered Turn 1 from the outside. This movement caused the tail to contact George Russell, and the two flew off onto the gravel. Hamilton immediately retired, but Russell continued to pit.
Verstappen’s Oscar Piastri of McLaren, Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin, Charles Leclerc of Ferrari, Esteban Ocon of Alpine, Lando Norris of McLaren, Pierre Gasly of Alpine, Hiroki Tsunoda of AlphaTauri, Alfa The safety car was brought out for Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas and Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg. Top 10.
The German was checked for a wrong starting position and then received a 10-second penalty for sitting in Sainz’s empty seat. After some drivers pitted under the safety car, Russell moved up the order thanks to the safety car.
At the restart, Verstappen was still in the lead, ahead of Piastri and Alonso. After Bottas pitted, Hulkenberg moved up to ninth place, passing Tsunoda as well for eighth place. Russell, on the other hand, is back in the top 10 after an early crash.
Pit stops began in accordance with FIA regulations, but Verstappen maintained his lead ahead of Piastri and Alonso. The winner was Norris, who overtook Ocon by stopping late and eventually overtook Leclerc on track in a battle for the podium.
The noise began to occur during another round of pit stops, and Norris overtook Alonso for third place, becoming the winner again. The Spaniard complained about the heat in his seat as he had a difficult moment, losing position to Leclerc at Turn 2.
While many received final warnings, Perez was given a five-second track limit penalty and became known for his erratic re-entries. Verstappen continued to lead ahead of Piastri and Norris, while Russell moved into fourth ahead of Leclerc.
Meanwhile, Williams asked Logan Sargent to retire due to illness. The American driver insisted he would continue driving despite his illness. However, he eventually pitted on his 42nd lap and retired as he could no longer continue driving.
Perez was handed a five-second track limit penalty and the misery continued, with Gasly also receiving two track limit penalties in a short period of time. Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Albon also received five second track limit penalties for the first time.
As the final pit stops began, Verstappen continued to lead second-placed Piastri, but the McLaren team said they wanted to maintain their position, with Norris eventually taking third place. But the Briton didn’t want that when he started running fast laps.
After four stops, Russell made a huge comeback to take fourth place, pushing Leclerc into the top five. Things took a turn for the second half of the top ten when Gasly overtook Stroll in a slip and conceded the position. He comes back with Perez.
At this trial, Gasly lost to both Stroll and Perez, but the Frenchman overtook him, but Stroll and Gasly were given five-second time penalties to their names, so the Mexican was told not to push. Verstappen led and won his F1 Grand Prix in Qatar.
The newly crowned 2023 F1 champion reached the podium ahead of Piastri and Norris, with the Brit finishing a close second to the Australian. Russell maintained fourth place despite his car deteriorating faster, and Leclerc finished fifth ahead of Alonso and Ocon.
Bottas finished 8th, giving Alfa Romeo double points with Chou Guanyu in 10th place behind Perez as Stroll and Gasly fell back to 11th and 12th. After the race, Perez received an additional five-second penalty, dropping him to 10th place and Guanyu to his ninth place.
Albon was 13th ahead of Haas’s Kevin Magnussen, while Tsunoda was 15th ahead of Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg and AlphaTauri’s Liam Lawson.
DNF: Sargeant, Hamilton. DNS: Sainz
More to come
