07 October 2023 , 18:09
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Max Verstappen didn't need to do anything in the Qatar Grand Prix Sprint to secure his third Formula 1 crown as a Sergio Perez crash sealed the title for him.
Perez needed a top-three finish in the short-form race on Saturday to have any hope of keeping the championship alive. Verstappen simply needed to cross the line sixth or higher to seal the deal.
But the Mexican's crash mid-way through the Sprint made his team-mate's job even easier. Verstappen made up for a poor start to rise up to second place but was held off by impressive pole-sitter Oscar Piastri who took maximum points for the first time in an F1 race.
Starting on the medium tyres proved to be the key decision. Everyone who chose the soft compound suffered horribly in the latter stages of the race, including George Russell who led for a few laps but was unable to defend once his tyres switched off.
Verstappen hoped to get the McLarens at the start if he could – but the opposite happened. He had a wretched launch off the line with lots of wheelspin which allowed Russell, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc to fly past.
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Norris also struggled off the line and was passed by several cars, but pole-sitter Piastri kept hold of the lead for the first lap. The safety car was deployed early as Liam Lawson, in his first ever F1 Sprint, span off the dusty track and beached his AlphaTauri in the gravel.
The race soon resumed but it wasn't long before the safety car was back on track, this time because Logan Sargeant had also lost control. Before that, though, Russell had taken full advantage of a gap left by Piastri to slip by the McLaren and take the lead.
Russell looked like he was going to speed off into the distance as it didn't take long for him to open up a two-second gap. But tyre choices would soon play a major role as degradation bit earlier than expected.
Those on soft tyres were struggling before half-distance and soon Piastri was on Russell's gearbox. He flew past with ease on his medium rubber and Verstappen, who was also using the yellow-walled tyres, had shot back up to third.
It wasn't long before he was past Russell and hunting Piastri down. But the Aussie drove superbly to keep the Red Bull at arm's length and took the victory over Verstappen.
Full 2023 Qatar Grand Prix Sprint result
- Oscar Piastri – McLaren
- Max Verstappen – Red Bull
- Lando Norris – McLaren
- George Russell – Mercedes
- Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes
- Carlos Sainz – Ferrari
- Charles Leclerc – Ferrari
- Alex Albon – Williams
- Fernando Alonso – Aston Martin
- Pierre Gasly – Alpine
- Valtteri Bottas – Alfa Romeo
- Yuki Tsunoda – AlphaTauri
- Lance Stroll – Aston Martin
- Kevin Magnussen – Haas
- Zhou Guanyu – Alfa Romeo
DNF: Nico Hulkenberg – Haas; Esteban Ocon – Alpine; Sergio Perez – Red Bull; Logan Sargeant – Williams; Liam Lawson – AlphaTauri