Max Verstappen Caps Off Title Winning Weekend with Qatar Grand Prix Victory

Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing celebrates in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of Qatar at Lusail International Circuit on October 08, 2023 in Lusail City, Qatar. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

LUSAIL, Qatar – After winning the title on Saturday during the Sprint Race with a second-place finish, Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing looked to Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix to keep on their winning ways. But even with the Constructors and Drivers championship locked up already, there are still six races to remain, and the rest of the positions in both championships remain to be determined.

Ahead of the beginning of the Qatar Grand Prix, it was revealed that there would be a pair of grid changes. First up, it was announced that Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz would not be participating in the race as the team learned there was a fuel system issue in the car; it was decided there was not enough time to fix the car in time for the race. Furthermore, Red Bull’s Sergio Perez would have to start the race on the pit lane following the wreck he was involved in during the Sprint Race that had the team have to replace multiple parts of the power unit and the chassis.

Furthermore, it was announced by the FIA, Formula 1, and Pirelli that there would be maximum tire stints in the Qatar Grand Prix due to the integrity issues found in the tires after 20 laps. Due to the Sprint Race being interrupted by multiple incidents, there was not enough data gathered to determine the tires’ safety. Because of this, teams were mandated that a tire stint could not go over 18 laps, so there would be at least three pit stops in the race, and anyone deemed to go over the limit would face disqualification.

With the stage set, it came time to prepare for the Grand Prix. As the tire blankets were removed, an idea of the day’s tire strategy became more apparent. A majority of teams decided to start on the Medium compound tire. In contrast, the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton, Alfa Romeo of Valtteri Bottas, AlphaTauri of Liam Lawson, and the Haas of Kevin Magnussen all decided to start on the more aggressive Soft compound tires. Meanwhile, Red Bull began the pit lane starter Perez on the Hard compound tires. Soon, the field set off on their formation lap.

The field returned to their grid spots, the lights went off, and away the area went. Verstappen got off to a better start than Saturday while the Mercedes pair of Hamilton and George Russell started to fight for position into Turn 1. But that’s when disaster struck for Mercedes. Taking advantage of the Soft tires, Hamilton decided to take the first corner on the outside but misjudged where his teammate was and made contact. He was sent spinning while losing a tire and into the gravel.

Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB19 leads the field at the start during the F1 Grand Prix of Qatar at Lusail International Circuit on October 08, 2023 in Lusail City, Qatar. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

The melee at the start allowed the young McLaren rookie Oscar Piastri to make his way up to second from his sixth-place start, ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, as the cars started to get in line behind the Safety Car, a familiar sight from the day before.

During the SC period, the stewards noted and penalized the Haas of Nico Hulkenberg for 10 seconds for starting in the wrong grid position. Meanwhile, Bottas, Magnussen, Lawson, and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll made a pit stop. Finally, getting to lap five, the race restarted with Verstappen ahead of Piastri.

At this moment, the race became a bit of a tire management race while teams waited to bring their drivers in for their first of three pit stops of the day. And by lap 11, Alpine called in Esteban Ocon to make his first stop. Shortly, more came in as Aston Martin called in Alonso, McLaren called in Piastri, and Ferrari called in Leclerc to set off the initial round of pit stops.

Verstappen stayed on the track to maximize the amount of laps in the available stint length while also putting in the fastest lap times, while the Williams of Alex Albon and the other Red Bull of Perez stayed on track. It wasn’t long before the first round of pit stops was completed, with Verstappen holding onto his lead while the Mercedes of George Russell was in the middle of a recovery driver flying through the order, including a close call between him and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly.

By lap 25, the second round of stops began as Piastri started things off, followed by Alonso, who had audibly complained about the seat starting to burn him with how hot it was and asked for some water to be poured on him during the second stop. Furthermore, track limits were again at the center of attention like the previous two days. Perez caught the first bit of ire as he was handed his first 5-second time penalty of the day due to going beyond the limits of the track.

On Sunday, @McLarenF1 produced the fastest pit stop of ALL TIME! 😱

A ridiculous 1.80s stop for @LandoNorris earns them the @DHL_Motorsports Fastest Pit Stop in Qatar!

2023 leaderboard 👉https://t.co/F2dWiQGk6K#QatarGP #F1 #MomentsThatDeliver pic.twitter.com/AUKUv8VjIs

— Formula 1 (@F1) October 9, 2023

During this second round of pit stops, McLaren’s pit crew set a new world record with a pit stop time of 1.8 seconds during Norris’ pit stop. A true testament to the speed and precision of the crews.

In the middle of his second stint, holding onto a decent-sized lead while once again going for the maximum allowed laps during a tire stint, the Red Bull pit wall radioed to Verstappen, “Let’s have a managed increase in pace at this point” while Verstappen answered with a bit of surprise.

Alonso’s burning seat complaints were soon compounded as he slid off the track at Turn 2 and slid through the gravel. Thankfully for him, he could make it to an escape road. But the Spaniard returned to the way with little grace as he returned to the track beside Leclerc, landing him a stern warning from the stewards.

It was not just Alonso who was facing overheating issues in the car. The Williams rookie Logan Sargeant radioed to his pit wall to say he was starting to feel unwell due to the heat, and team principal James Vowels gave him the option to pit and retire the car for his safety.

Verstappen soon made his second stop of the day with a switch to the Hard compound tires, retaining his lead over Piastri, with Norris having made his way through Alonso and Leclerc in attempts to gain another double podium finish for both McLaren two races in a row. Behind them, Russell had cycled his way to a net fourth—an impressive recovery following a trip into the gravel and restarting in the back of the grid.

A few laps later, the sergeant finally had enough of the conditions and told his team that he would retire the car. He went to his pit box and gingerly made his way out of his car. By the end of the race, he was not the only one struggling due to the conditions on a hot and humid evening.

The final round of pit stops began as McLaren brought in Piastri, then Norris for the last stint with a set of Hard tires to finish the race. Then the pit wall asked Norris not to race to preserve the double podium for the team, much to the dismay of Norris as he believed he could grab second place.

On lap 52, Max Verstappen returned to the pits for his final stop and, with ease, made his way back to the line five seconds ahead of the McLaren duo of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. Verstappen’s victory was his 14th of the season, and having led all laps and grabbed the fastest lap, he secured his second Grand Slam. He also tied for the most laps led in a season, surpassing the record set by Sebastian Vettel, with five more races remaining.

George Russell completed his recovery drive to finish fourth in his Mercedes, while the lone Ferrari of Charles Leclerc completed the Top 5. Fernando Alonso brought his Aston Martin home sixth, followed by the Alpine of Esteban Ocon in seventh, who had thrown up early in the race due to the heat. An impressive double points finish for Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu in eighth and ninth, respectively. At the same time, the remaining Red Bull of Sergio Perez closed out the points, gaining runners in 10th, having been given another 5-second time penalty due to track limits.

The Aston Martin of Lance Stroll, Alpine of Pierre Gasly, and Williams of Alex Albon also got a handful of time penalties by the end of the race, holding them steady in 11th, 12th, and 13th, respectively. The Haas and the AlphaTauri’s of Kevin Magnussen, Yuki Tsunoda, Nico Hulkenberg, and Liam Lawson rounded out the field of finishing runners.

Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing celebrates with his team in the Pitlane after the F1 Grand Prix of Qatar at Lusail International Circuit on October 08, 2023 in Lusail City, Qatar. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

Red Bull Racing finally celebrated Max Verstappen’s third consecutive World Drivers Championship following his victory at the Qatar Grand Prix. At the same time, McLaren continued to show their insane improvement from where they started the year to now, having gotten another double podium, looking to be a contender for perhaps 2024 to fight against Red Bull.

The biggest story of the day was about the safety of the drivers. The conditions in the cockpits were almost unbearable. Logan Sargeant did not finish the race, while Esteban Ocon got sick in the middle of the race. However, that was not all, as multiple drivers such as Alex Albon and Lance Stroll struggled to get out of their cars in Parc Ferme while Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri needed time to sit and lay down in the cool down room after post-race interview.

The cooldown room lived up to its name! 😅#F1 #QatarGP pic.twitter.com/A4H8zHPbmn

— Formula 1 (@F1) October 9, 2023

While the Qatar Grand Prix in 2024 is moved to November, teams, drivers, and the FIA hope to find ways to ensure driver safety is still at the front of focus and that the conditions the drivers face are not repeated.

The Formula 1 calendar now focuses on the Americas for the United States Grand Prix. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen hopes to continue dominating, while McLaren hopes to continue pushing their way up the point standings and solidifying themselves as contenders next season.