2023 Qatar GP Sprint Race: Full Report & Highlights

Max Verstappen clinched his third Formula 1 world championship after charging to second place in a frenetic Qatar Sprint, finishing between victor Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris as McLaren delivered a headline Saturday—and Sergio Pérez retired from a multi-car clash that mathematically ended the title fight. Piastri had started the 19-lap Sprint from pole and, despite losing the lead early to George Russell’s soft-tyred Mercedes, the rookie fought his way back to secure his first F1 win, while Verstappen only needed P6 but still executed a decisive recovery drive to seal his third consecutive crown.

Pérez’s retirement ensured Verstappen joined the exclusive group of triple world champions—Brabham, Stewart, Lauda, Piquet and Senna—leaving only Prost and Vettel ahead of him on the all-time list. But the Sprint itself was no formality: mixed tyre strategies, three Safety Cars and multiple wheel-to-wheel battles made the Lusail showdown one of the most chaotic sprints of 2023.

At the start, Piastri, Norris and Verstappen lined up on mediums, while Russell, Sainz and Leclerc rolled the dice on softs. The rest of the field split between the two compounds, with Alonso, Stroll, Ocon, Gasly and Sargeant joining the soft-tyre runners, and everyone else on mediums.

When the lights went out, Piastri held the lead cleanly into Turn 1, but Verstappen and Norris were immediately swallowed by the soft-shod pack. Russell blasted past into second and then into the lead, with Sainz and Leclerc also demoting the McLarens and Verstappen in one rapid sequence. Behind them, Liam Lawson spun his AlphaTauri into the gravel, bringing out the first Safety Car before the field had completed a full lap.

The race resumed after a single neutralised tour, with Russell attacking immediately and diving down the inside of Piastri at Turn 8 to take the lead. But moments later Sargeant spun into the gravel, triggering a second Safety Car and giving the soft runners even more opportunity to preserve their tyres. Russell led from Piastri, Sainz, Leclerc and Verstappen, who remained firmly on course to wrap up the championship regardless of Pérez’s fate.

At the restart, Russell executed a perfect getaway and opened a one-second buffer in just a few corners. Piastri held off Sainz, who was fending off Leclerc, while Alonso slipped behind Ocon before smartly retaking the place for seventh. Norris held sixth but seemed stuck behind the soft-tyred group.

By Lap 9, Verstappen turned up the pace, breezing past Leclerc into Turn 1 and repeating the move on Sainz a lap later, showcasing the mediums’ renewed advantage as the soft runners began to fade. Piastri, noticing the same trend, slashed Russell’s lead and used DRS to retake P1 down the main straight. Norris, recovering from his opening-lap shuffle, passed Leclerc for sixth.

Then came the moment that changed the title fight instantly: Pérez attempted an ambitious double overtake on Hulkenberg and Ocon into Turn 2. All three collided and sustained terminal damage. “They sandwiched me!” Hulkenberg exclaimed, as another Safety Car was deployed and Pérez’s slim championship hopes evaporated completely.

Russell, feeling his soft tyres fall off a cliff, urged Mercedes to pit him, as Stroll, Zhou and Magnussen did, but the team declined. When the race restarted at the end of Lap 14, Piastri sprinted clear of Russell, Verstappen and Sainz. Leclerc retook Norris into Turn 1, sliding close to his own team-mate’s gearbox in the process.

Russell’s tyre fade reached its tipping point shortly afterwards. Verstappen blasted past him on the main straight to secure P2—and the world title—while Norris then passed both Ferraris and finally swept ahead of Russell as well. Behind them, Gasly’s lock-up handed Hamilton a clean route into the points. The Mercedes driver then dispatched Alonso before sweeping past both Ferraris in the closing laps.

Piastri crossed the line to take his first F1 win of any kind, with Verstappen just under two seconds behind, officially crowned a three-time world champion. Norris completed the podium after a late overtake on Russell, who still beat Hamilton to fourth and fifth. Sainz and Leclerc followed in sixth and seventh, with Albon surging to eighth before the flag.

Post-race, Leclerc and Stroll were handed five-second penalties for exceeding track limits, dropping Leclerc out of the points and promoting Alonso to P8, with Stroll classified behind Magnussen and Zhou.

2023 Qatar GP Sprint Race Results

2023 Qatar Grand Prix Sprint Race, 7 October 2023