2023-10-07 17:54:00
It’s a historic first: an F1 world champion crowned on a Saturday. With 177 points ahead in the drivers’ standings before this Qatar GP, Max Verstappen only needed three small points to validate his third world champion title and thus join Ayrton Senna, Nelson Piquet, Niki Lauda and Jack Brabham in the pantheon of pilots. A top 6 during the sprint race this Saturday was therefore enough for his happiness.
But the Red Bull driver did not even have to wait for the checkered flag to validate his title since his teammate Sergio Perez, who was his last competitor in the standings, was sent to the decor by Esteban Ocon. The Mexican’s retirement therefore assured the title to Verstappen… who ultimately finished second in this sprint behind rookie Oscar Piastri, winner, and ahead of Lando Norris. Enough to make McLaren happy, which demonstrates that the poor performances at the start of the season have been forgotten.
This sprint race was very hectic with numerous incidents and overtaking. The Safety Car was released three times. From the first round following the exit of Liam Lawson (AlphaTauri). On the third following the retirement of Logan Sargeant (Williams) and, finally, on the tenth lap following the collision between Pérez, Ocon and Hülkenberg.
If the drivers shod on soft tires like George Russell (Mercedes) and the Ferrari drivers took the upper hand during the first laps, those equipped with mediums such as the McLaren boys, Verstappen or even Lewis Hamilton counterattacked in spectacular fashion . The final trifecta of Piastri-Verstappen-Norris is thus equipped with yellow sidewall tires.
George Russell, after leading at the start of the race, finished fourth ahead of his teammate Hamilton, who started a distant twelfth, and the Ferraris of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque kept his seventh place by a hair from Alex Albon (Williams), dead last at one point in the event but author of a dazzling comeback with his good tires.
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