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Charles Bradley

2023 F1 Qatar GP results: Piastri wins sprint, Verstappen champion

MercedesGeorge Russell passed polewinner and early leader Piastri soon after a restart on lap three, but Russell’s pace on softer tyres fell away as the sprint entered its second half and Piastri repassed him to lead once more.

After a poor start on mediums, Verstappen surged up to third – although his progress was hampered by no less than three safety car interventions.

In the final five-lap dash to the finish, Verstappen passed Russell but could do nothing about Piastri, who scored his first F1 victory.

2023 F1 Qatar GP sprint results

Cla Driver  Car / Engine   Laps   Gap 
81 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 19 -
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 19 -1.871
4 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 19 -8.497
63 George Russell Mercedes 19 -11.036
44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 19 -17.314
55 Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari 19 -18.806
16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 19 -19.860
23 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 19 -19.864
14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 19 -21.180
10  10 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 19 -21.742
11  77 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 19 -22.208
12  22 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT 19 -22.863
13  18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 19 -24.523
14  20 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 19 -24.970
15  24 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 19 -26.868
27 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 11 -
31 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 10 -
11 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 10 -
2 Logan Sargeant Williams/Mercedes 2 -
40 Liam Lawson AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT 0 -

How the 2023 F1 Qatar GP sprint unfolded

Piastri led from his first ever F1 pole on medium tyres, ahead of the soft-shod Russell and the Ferraris of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc – who all gained huge advantages away from the startline. Verstappen fell to sixth by the first corner but jumped ahead of Lando Norris (McLaren) at Turn 2, who slumped from the front row down to sixth.

The race immediately required a safety car, when Liam Lawson (AlphaTauri) spun off all by himself, and restarted on lap three. Moments after it went green again, Russell grabbed the lead from Piastri at Turn 6 with an aggressive lunge.

Further back, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon snatched seventh from Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin, after the Spaniard lost momentum trying to pass the struggling Norris.

A second safety car was needed when Logan Sargeant spun his Williams into the gravel on lap four.

At the restart on lap seven, Russell caught Piastri napping to lead by 1.5s, as Sainz attacked at Turn 1. Alonso repassed Ocon in the battle for seventh.

Verstappen DRS-ed past Leclerc for fourth on lap nine and did likewise on Sainz a lap later.

Russell’s pace suddenly fell away, allowing Piastri to power past him on the start/finish straight on lap 10. Behind them, Norris passed Leclerc around the outside of Turn 1 for fifth.

A three-wide moment between Ocon, Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) and Sergio Perez (Red Bull) ended with all three colliding, sending Ocon and Perez into the gravel and all were out of the race. It meant a third safety car intervention.

The race restarted with a five-lap dash to the finish, with Leclerc repassing Norris into Turn 1. Piastri extended a 1s gap over Russell, who had Verstappen right on his tail. Verstappen took second at Turn 1 on the next tour and set off after Piastri, who now had a 2.4s lead.

Norris passed Leclerc again, as well as Sainz, to grab fourth on the following lap.

Verstappen was only able to take a couple of tenths out of Piastri in the closing stages, and was forced to settle for second, while Norris passed Russell on the final lap for third.

The second Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton charged up to fifth, as Sainz and Leclerc fell back to sixth and seventh respectively.

2023 F1 Qatar GP sprint fastest laps

Cla Driver  Car / Engine   Time   Gap   Kp/h 
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1'25.604   227.891
4 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1'25.662 0.058 227.736
81 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1'25.926 0.322 227.037
63 George Russell Mercedes 1'27.220 1.616 223.668
44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1'27.968 2.364 221.767
11 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1'28.584 2.980 220.224
55 Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari 1'28.644 3.040 220.075
14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1'28.717 3.113 219.894
23 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1'28.717 3.113 219.894
10  16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1'28.759 3.155 219.790
11  10 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1'28.769 3.165 219.765
12  77 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1'29.017 3.413 219.153
13  27 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 1'29.307 3.703 218.442
14  22 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT 1'29.381 3.777 218.261
15  31 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1'29.388 3.784 218.244
16  18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1'29.536 3.932 217.883
17  24 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1'29.553 3.949 217.841
18  20 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1'29.560 3.956 217.824
19  2 Logan Sargeant Williams/Mercedes 2'03.562 37.958 157.883

What happened in Qatar GP sprint shootout qualifying?

After a 10-minute practice session for familiarisation, as the FIA changed the track layout overnight at Turns 12/13 following issues raised by Pirelli about sidewall separation, Piastri set pole position.

Qatar GP sprint shootout results: Piastri on pole from Norris

Cla   Nº   Driver   Car / Engine   Time   Delay
[s]  
1 81  Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1'24.454 -
2 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1'24.536 0.082
3 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1'24.646 0.192
4 63  George Russell Mercedes 1'24.841 0.387
5 55  Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari 1'25.155 0.701
6 16  Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1'25.247 0.793
7 27  Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 1'25.320 0.866
8 11  Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1'25.382 0.928
9 14  Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes - -
10 31  Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault - -
11 10  Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1'25.686 1.232
12 44  Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1'25.962 1.508
13 77  Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1'26.236 1.782
14 40  Liam Lawson AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT 1'26.584 2.130
15 24  Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1'54.546 30.092
16 18  Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1'26.849 2.395
17 23  Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1'26.862 2.408
18 22  Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT 1'26.926 2.472
19 20  Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1'27.438 2.984
20 Logan Sargeant Williams/Mercedes 2'05.741 41.287

What happened in Qatar GP SQ1?

Russell set the fastest time of 1m25.413s on the mandated medium tyres.

Falling at the first hurdle were Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), Alex Albon (Williams), Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri, after his quickest lap was deleted for exceeding track limits), Kevin Magnussen (Haas) and Logan Sargeant (Williams).

Qatar GP SQ1 results: Russell fastest from Verstappen

Cla   Nº   Driver   Car / Engine   Time   Delay   Laps   km/h 
Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1'24.947   3 229.653
63  George Russell Mercedes 1'25.027 0.080 7 229.437
11  Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1'25.143 0.196 6 229.125
Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1'25.199 0.252 3 228.974
14  Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1'25.344 0.397 5 228.585
16  Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1'25.367 0.420 7 228.523
55  Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari 1'25.433 0.486 7 228.347
81  Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1'25.496 0.549 6 228.179
27  Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 1'25.499 0.552 6 228.171
10  31  Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1'25.510 0.563 5 228.141
11  10  Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1'25.686 0.739 5 227.673
12  44  Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1'25.962 1.015 7 226.942
13  77  Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1'26.236 1.289 3 226.221
14  40  Liam Lawson AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT 1'26.584 1.637 6 225.311
15  24  Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1'54.546 29.599 5 170.310

What happened in Qatar GP SQ2?

Norris set the quickest time of 1m24.947s, again on mandated mediums.

Knocked out at this point were track limits victims Pierre Gasly (Alpine) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), along with Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo), Liam Lawson (AlphaTauri) and Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo).

Qatar GP SQ2 results: Norris fastest from Verstappen

Cla   Nº   Driver   Car / Engine   Time   Delay   Laps   km/h 
Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1'24.947   3 229.653
63  George Russell Mercedes 1'25.027 0.080 7 229.437
11  Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1'25.143 0.196 6 229.125
Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1'25.199 0.252 3 228.974
14  Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1'25.344 0.397 5 228.585
16  Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1'25.367 0.420 7 228.523
55  Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari 1'25.433 0.486 7 228.347
81  Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1'25.496 0.549 6 228.179
27  Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 1'25.499 0.552 6 228.171
10  31  Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1'25.510 0.563 5 228.141
11  10  Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1'25.686 0.739 5 227.673
12  44  Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1'25.962 1.015 7 226.942
13  77  Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1'26.236 1.289 3 226.221
14  40  Liam Lawson AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT 1'26.584 1.637 6 225.311
15  24  Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1'54.546 29.599 5 170.310

What happened in Qatar Grand Prix SQ3?

After his first effort was deleted due to track limits, Verstappen could only manage third on his measured final run.

That resulted in a McLaren 1-2, and Piastri beat Norris to score his first F1 pole with 1m24.454s on his final run as Norris ran off course at the final corner.

George Russell was fourth quickest for Mercedes, ahead of Fernando Alonso (Aston), the Ferraris of Sainz and Leclerc, Nico Hulkenberg (Haas), Sergio Perez (Red Bull) and Esteban Ocon (Alpine).

Qatar GP SQ3 results: Piastri takes sprint pole

Cla   Nº   Driver   Car / Engine   Time   Delay   Laps   km/h 
81  Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1'24.454   5 230.994
Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1'24.536 0.082 5 230.770
Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1'24.646 0.192 6 230.470
63  George Russell Mercedes 1'24.841 0.387 3 229.940
55  Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari 1'25.155 0.701 6 229.092
16  Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1'25.247 0.793 6 228.845
27  Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 1'25.320 0.866 3 228.649
11  Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1'25.382 0.928 5 228.483
14  Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes -   3  
10  31  Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault -   3  
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