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The 2023 Qatar Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Qatar Airways Qatar Grand Prix 2023) was a Formula One motor race held on 8 October 2023 at the
Lusail International Circuit The Losail International Circuit or Lusail International Circuit (Arabic: حلبة لوسيل الدولية) is a motor racing circuit located just outside the city of Lusail, north of Doha, Qatar. Built in just under a year by 1,000 workers ...
in Lusail, Qatar. It was the seventeenth round of the
2023 Formula One World Championship The 2023 FIA Formula One World Championship is a planned motor racing championship for Formula One cars which will be the 74th running of the Formula One World Championship. It is recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile ...
and the fourth Grand Prix weekend of the season to utilise the sprint format.
Max Verstappen Max Emilian Verstappen (; born 30 September 1997) is a Belgian-Dutch Auto racing, racing driver and the 2021 Formula One World Championship, 2021 and 2022 Formula One World Championship, 2022 Formula One World Champion. He Formula One drivers ...
won his third Driver's Championship after his teammate,
Sergio Pérez Sergio Michel "Checo" Pérez Mendoza (; born 26 January 1990), is a Mexican Auto racing, racing driver who races in Formula One for Red Bull Racing, having previously driven for Sauber, McLaren, Force India, and Racing Point. He won his first ...
, crashed out in the sprint and was taken out of title contention. Verstappen secured
pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...
for the race during qualifying, before finishing third in the sprint shootout behind
McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...
drivers
Oscar Piastri Oscar Piastri (born 6 April 2001) is an Australian racing driver who previously served as the reserve driver for Alpine F1 Team, having previously been in the team's driver academy. He won the 2019 Formula Renault Eurocup with R-ace GP, and won ...
in first and Lando Norris in second, the former of whom went on to win the sprint. In the main race, Verstappen led all laps, set the fastest lap time, and won ahead of Piastri and Norris, scoring his fourth
grand chelem The following is a glossary of terminology used in motorsport, along with explanations of their meanings. 0–9 ;1–2 finish: When two vehicles from the same team finish first and second in a race. Can be extended to 1–2–3 or 1–2–3– ...
.
McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...
set the fastest pit stop record, servicing Norris in 1.80 seconds. The drivers were severely affected by the extreme heat throughout the weekend, with several calling the race the most difficult they had ever experienced. The difficulty was also exacerbated by the last-minute implementation of an 18-lap maximum tyre stint, recommended by
Pirelli Pirelli & C. S.p.A. is a multinational tyre manufacturer based in Milan, Italy. The company, which has been listed on the Milan Stock Exchange since 1922, is the 6th-largest tyre manufacturer and is focused on the consumer production of tyre ...
and enforced by the FIA. The mandate, the first of its kind in Formula One, came in response to observations of a separation between the carcass cord and the topping compound on the tyres, which could lead to a blow out.


Background

The event was held across the weekend of 6–8 October. It was the seventeenth round of the
2023 Formula One World Championship The 2023 FIA Formula One World Championship is a planned motor racing championship for Formula One cars which will be the 74th running of the Formula One World Championship. It is recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile ...
and the second running of the
Qatar Grand Prix The Qatar Grand Prix is a Formula One motor racing event which is held in Qatar. It was held for the first time on 21 November as part of the championship at the Losail International Circuit, and after not taking place during the season due to ...
. The weekend was the fourth of six in the season to follow the sprint format. It marked the return of the Qatar Grand Prix to the World Championship after a one year absence. This was because the event was not run in 2022 in order to avoid interfering with Qatar's responsibility for hosting the
2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international association football, football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022 ...
. It was also the first Qatar Grand Prix to be part of a season's original schedule, as the inaugural running of the event in 2021 was held as a substitute event for the cancelled
2021 Australian Grand Prix The 2021 FIA Formula One World Championship was a motor racing championship for Formula One cars which was the 72nd running of the Formula One World Championship. It is recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the ...
which was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. The race was the first of a ten-year contract with the FIA until 2032.


Championship standings before the weekend

Coming into the weekend,
Max Verstappen Max Emilian Verstappen (; born 30 September 1997) is a Belgian-Dutch Auto racing, racing driver and the 2021 Formula One World Championship, 2021 and 2022 Formula One World Championship, 2022 Formula One World Champion. He Formula One drivers ...
led the Drivers' Championship by 177 points from teammate
Sergio Pérez Sergio Michel "Checo" Pérez Mendoza (; born 26 January 1990), is a Mexican Auto racing, racing driver who races in Formula One for Red Bull Racing, having previously driven for Sauber, McLaren, Force India, and Racing Point. He won his first ...
, with Lewis Hamilton third, a further 33 points behind. Red Bull Racing, having secured the title at the preceding Japanese Grand Prix, led the Constructors' Championship over
Mercedes Mercedes may refer to: People * Mercedes (name), a Spanish feminine name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or last name Automobile-related * Mercedes (marque), the pre-1926 brand name of German automobile m ...
by 318 points and
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
by a further 20 points.
World Drivers' Championship Formula One, abbreviated to F1, is the highest class of open-wheeled auto racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body. The "formula" in the name refers to a set of rules to which a ...
leader Verstappen had an opportunity to secure his third consecutive title. He could have achieved it by finishing sixth in the sprint, with Pérez winning. Had Verstappen not scored in the sprint and Pérez had won, Verstappen would still only have had to finish eighth in the Grand Prix – regardless of Pérez's result – to win the title. Verstappen would have won the title as his advantage would have been the same as the number of remaining obtainable points in the season (146), but Pérez would not have been able to win on a tiebreaker due to Verstappen achieving more wins than Pérez, even if Pérez had gone on to win the remaining Grands Prix.


Entrants

The drivers and teams were the same as the season entry list, with the exception of Liam Lawson, who was in the seat originally held by Nyck de Vries. , this is the last Grand Prix appearance of Liam Lawson.


Tyre choices

Tyre supplier
Pirelli Pirelli & C. S.p.A. is a multinational tyre manufacturer based in Milan, Italy. The company, which has been listed on the Milan Stock Exchange since 1922, is the 6th-largest tyre manufacturer and is focused on the consumer production of tyre ...
brought the C1, C2 and C3 tyre compounds (designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively) for teams to use at the event.


Tyre safety concerns and responses

After the free practice session and qualifying, Pirelli's analysis of the used tyres gave them concern about damage from the track's kerbs. The previous running of the event in
2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
was notable for four front-left tyre failures, which led to the retirements of two drivers. As a response, the track limits at turns 12 and 13 were altered before the sprint shootout and a ten minute acclimatisation session was added to the schedule on Saturday. The FIA stated that should the tyre concerns persist following the sprint, they would introduce a limit on the maximum number of laps that tyres could be run: 20 laps for the first set of tyres, and 22 laps for subsequent sets, including laps from previous sessions. This would require each driver to make at least three in-race pit stops for tyres. Due to the frequency of safety cars in the sprint, the tyre data available for analysis by Pirelli was insufficient to add to that already undertaken following the previous track sessions. Before Sunday's race, the FIA amended the maximum number of laps tyres could be run to 18 laps per each set of tyres, down from 20. The mandate to perform three pit-stops was removed, although this remained the consequence of the 18 laps per tyre set rule. Laps run behind the safety car would not be counted towards a tyre's life with regards to the 18 lap limit, meaning a safety car intervention during the race could make a two stop strategy permissible. The rule marked the first time the FIA has enforced stint lengths in a Formula One race for safety reasons.


Practice

The only scheduled free practice session was held on 6 October 2023, at 16:30 local time ( UTC+3).
Max Verstappen Max Emilian Verstappen (; born 30 September 1997) is a Belgian-Dutch Auto racing, racing driver and the 2021 Formula One World Championship, 2021 and 2022 Formula One World Championship, 2022 Formula One World Champion. He Formula One drivers ...
topped the session, followed by the
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
drivers
Carlos Sainz Jr. Carlos Sainz Vázquez de Castro (; born 1 September 1994), otherwise known as Carlos Sainz Jr. or simply Carlos Sainz, is a Formula One drivers from Spain, Spanish racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari. He is th ...
and Charles Leclerc in second and third, respectively. An extra track acclimatisation session, lasting ten minutes, was held on 7 October 2023, at 16:00 local time (UTC+3), to enable drivers to get used to circuit changes made in response to tyre concerns.


Qualifying

Qualifying Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...
was held on 6 October 2023, at 20:00 local time ( UTC+3), and determined the starting grid order for the main race.


Qualifying report

Max Verstappen Max Emilian Verstappen (; born 30 September 1997) is a Belgian-Dutch Auto racing, racing driver and the 2021 Formula One World Championship, 2021 and 2022 Formula One World Championship, 2022 Formula One World Champion. He Formula One drivers ...
topped the first and third segment, propelling him into pole position ahead of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton. The session was affected by numerous track limits violations which negatively affected Lando Norris,
Oscar Piastri Oscar Piastri (born 6 April 2001) is an Australian racing driver who previously served as the reserve driver for Alpine F1 Team, having previously been in the team's driver academy. He won the 2019 Formula Renault Eurocup with R-ace GP, and won ...
and
Sergio Pérez Sergio Michel "Checo" Pérez Mendoza (; born 26 January 1990), is a Mexican Auto racing, racing driver who races in Formula One for Red Bull Racing, having previously driven for Sauber, McLaren, Force India, and Racing Point. He won his first ...
, the last of whom had set a time quick enough to get into the third segment but had it deleted. Lance Stroll experienced another Q1 exit, and in frustration appeared to shove his personal trainer after exiting his car. In a later interview with ''
Autosport ''Autosport'' is a global motorsport publishing brand headquartered based in Richmond, London. It was established in 1950 at the same time as the origins of the Formula One World Championship. Autosport began life as a weekly magazine in 1950 ...
'' magazine, Stroll stated that he was on good terms with his trainer.


Qualifying classification

;Notes * –
Sergio Pérez Sergio Michel "Checo" Pérez Mendoza (; born 26 January 1990), is a Mexican Auto racing, racing driver who races in Formula One for Red Bull Racing, having previously driven for Sauber, McLaren, Force India, and Racing Point. He won his first ...
qualified 13, but he was required to start the race from the pit lane as the car was fitted with new power unit elements without the approval of the technical delegate during parc fermé and for the new chassis being considered a new car.


Sprint shootout

The sprint shootout was originally scheduled for 7 October 2023, at 16:00 local time ( UTC+3), before being postponed to 16:20 due to an extra track acclimatisation session. It determined the starting grid order for the sprint.


Sprint shootout report

Max Verstappen Max Emilian Verstappen (; born 30 September 1997) is a Belgian-Dutch Auto racing, racing driver and the 2021 Formula One World Championship, 2021 and 2022 Formula One World Championship, 2022 Formula One World Champion. He Formula One drivers ...
made a mistake which led to his track times being deleted, which opened the gates for the
McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...
s of
Oscar Piastri Oscar Piastri (born 6 April 2001) is an Australian racing driver who previously served as the reserve driver for Alpine F1 Team, having previously been in the team's driver academy. He won the 2019 Formula Renault Eurocup with R-ace GP, and won ...
and Lando Norris to punch through and take a one-two in qualification ahead of Verstappen. Meanwhile, Lance Stroll experienced another first segment elimination and Logan Sargeant's time was over the
107% rule The 107% rule is a sporting regulation affecting Formula One racing qualifying sessions. During the first phase of qualifying, if the circuit is dry, any driver who is eliminated in the first qualifying session and fails to set a lap within 107 p ...
but he was allowed to race under the stewards' discretion.


Sprint shootout classification

;Notes * – Logan Sargeant failed to set a time within the 107% requirement. He was permitted to race in the sprint at the stewards' discretion.


Sprint

The
sprint Sprint may refer to: Aerospace *Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design *Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile Automotive and motorcycle *Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989 *Chevrolet Sprint, ...
was held on 7 October 2023, at 20:30 local time ( UTC+3), and was run for 19 laps.


Sprint report

Oscar Piastri Oscar Piastri (born 6 April 2001) is an Australian racing driver who previously served as the reserve driver for Alpine F1 Team, having previously been in the team's driver academy. He won the 2019 Formula Renault Eurocup with R-ace GP, and won ...
took his and McLaren's first sprint victory ahead of Max Verstappen in second and Piastri's teammate Lando Norris in third. Verstappen secured his third consecutive Formula One World Championship after his teammate
Sergio Pérez Sergio Michel "Checo" Pérez Mendoza (; born 26 January 1990), is a Mexican Auto racing, racing driver who races in Formula One for Red Bull Racing, having previously driven for Sauber, McLaren, Force India, and Racing Point. He won his first ...
crashed out and was mathematically eliminated from contention. Piastri's sprint victory was his first competitive win of any sort since his final race in Formula 2. The sprint saw the deployment of three safety cars and five retirements. Liam Lawson and Logan Sargeant both individually spun into the gravel, and
Esteban Ocon Esteban José Jean-Pierre Ocon-Khelfane (; born 17 September 1996) is a French racing driver who competes for Alpine in Formula One. He made his Formula One debut for Manor Racing in the 2016 Belgian Grand Prix, replacing Rio Haryanto. He move ...
, Pérez and Nico Hülkenberg crashed together after the Alpine locked up, running into Pérez's side pod and damaging Hülkenberg's front wing and suspension. It was deemed a racing incident by the stewards and no further action was taken.
Alexander Albon Alexander Albon Ansusinha ( th, อเล็กซานเดอร์ อัลบอน อังศุสิงห์; , , born 23 March 1996) is a Thai-British racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Williams Racing, under th ...
, starting in seventeenth, climbed up ten places to finish seventh. The points positions were rounded off by
Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver currently competing for Alpine in Formula One. He won the series' World Drivers' Championship in and with Renault, and has also driven for McLaren, Ferrari, and Mi ...
, finishing eighth. Meanwhile, Lance Stroll and Charles Leclerc fell foul of track limits and had five seconds added to their times following the race.


Sprint classification

;Notes * – Charles Leclerc finished seventh on track, but he received a post-sprint five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits. * – Lance Stroll finished thirteenth on track, but he received a post-sprint five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits.


Race

The race was held on 8 October 2023, at 20:00 local time ( UTC+3), and was run for 57 laps.


Race report

Prior to the race, a fuel leak in
Carlos Sainz Jr. Carlos Sainz Vázquez de Castro (; born 1 September 1994), otherwise known as Carlos Sainz Jr. or simply Carlos Sainz, is a Formula One drivers from Spain, Spanish racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari. He is th ...
's car was discovered which prevented him from starting the race. Lewis Hamilton retired from the race after turning into the Mercedes of George Russell at the first corner on lap 1, breaking the hub off his wheel and spinning into the gravel trap. The incident forced the Safety Car to be deployed in order to allow the marshals to remove his car and clear the debris safely. The safety car period ended on lap 4. Max Verstappen led all laps, recorded the fastest lap and won the race ahead of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, who both recovered from lower grid positions, resulting in the
McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...
team's 500th and 501st podiums. Meanwhile, Verstappen's teammate Sergio Pérez started from the pit lane, received a penalty for track limits, and recovered to tenth after Lance Stroll received a penalty. The race was run in challenging, hot conditions: in particular,
Esteban Ocon Esteban José Jean-Pierre Ocon-Khelfane (; born 17 September 1996) is a French racing driver who competes for Alpine in Formula One. He made his Formula One debut for Manor Racing in the 2016 Belgian Grand Prix, replacing Rio Haryanto. He move ...
vomited in his car twice but managed to finish the race in seventh, while Logan Sargeant chose to retire due to heat stroke and dehydration, exacerbated by flu-like symptoms he already had coming into the weekend. Sargeant's teammate
Alexander Albon Alexander Albon Ansusinha ( th, อเล็กซานเดอร์ อัลบอน อังศุสิงห์; , , born 23 March 1996) is a Thai-British racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Williams Racing, under th ...
was also sent to the medical centre after the race due to heat exposure. Lance Stroll also went directly to the medical centre after the race, and said he was "passing out" in the car and suffered blurred vision. Russell said he was close to losing consciousness at the end of the race. Many drivers, including Piastri, Charles Leclerc, Russell, Ocon, Verstappen, and Norris said it was the most physically demanding race of their careers. McLaren, servicing Norris, set the new record for the fastest pit stop completed in 1.80 seconds. The previous record was set at the
2019 Brazilian Grand Prix The 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix (formally known as the Formula 1 Heineken Grande Prêmio do Brasil 2019) was a Formula One motor race that was held on 17 November 2019 at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in São Paulo, Brazil. The race was the twe ...
by Red Bull Racing at 1.82 seconds, servicing Verstappen.


Race classification

Notes * – Includes one point for fastest lap. * –
Sergio Pérez Sergio Michel "Checo" Pérez Mendoza (; born 26 January 1990), is a Mexican Auto racing, racing driver who races in Formula One for Red Bull Racing, having previously driven for Sauber, McLaren, Force India, and Racing Point. He won his first ...
finished eleventh, but he received a five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits. He gained a position following Lance Stroll's penalty. * – Lance Stroll finished ninth, but he received two five-second time penalties for exceeding track limits. * – Pierre Gasly finished tenth, but he received two five-second time penalties for exceeding track limits. * –
Alexander Albon Alexander Albon Ansusinha ( th, อเล็กซานเดอร์ อัลบอน อังศุสิงห์; , , born 23 March 1996) is a Thai-British racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Williams Racing, under th ...
received two five-second time penalties for exceeding track limits. His final position was not affected by the penalty. * – Nico Hülkenberg was due to start the race from fourteenth place, but he erroneously started from the twelfth grid slot which had been left vacant by
Carlos Sainz Jr. Carlos Sainz Vázquez de Castro (; born 1 September 1994), otherwise known as Carlos Sainz Jr. or simply Carlos Sainz, is a Formula One drivers from Spain, Spanish racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari. He is th ...
being unable to start. He received a ten-second time penalty for the infraction. * –
Carlos Sainz Jr. Carlos Sainz Vázquez de Castro (; born 1 September 1994), otherwise known as Carlos Sainz Jr. or simply Carlos Sainz, is a Formula One drivers from Spain, Spanish racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari. He is th ...
did not start the race due to a fuel leak. His place on the grid was erroneously occupied by Nico Hülkenberg who left the fourteenth place vacant.


Championship standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings ;Constructors' Championship standings * Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings. * Competitors in bold and marked with an asterisk are the 2023 World Champions.


Notes


References


External links

{{F1GP 2020–29 Qatar
Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...
Qatar Grand Prix The Qatar Grand Prix is a Formula One motor racing event which is held in Qatar. It was held for the first time on 21 November as part of the championship at the Losail International Circuit, and after not taking place during the season due to ...
2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...