Max Verstappen secured his third World Championship title in Qatar, becoming the 12th driver to win three championships and the first Dutch driver to reach that mark. The victory was Verstappen’s 49th in Formula 1 and Red Bull’s 108th, while his pole position was the 30th of his career, making him the ninth driver to record 30 poles and the first Dutch driver to do so.
| Date | Sunday, 8 October 2023 |
| Winner | Max Verstappen Red Bull-Honda RBPT |
| Pole position | Max Verstappen Red Bull-Honda RBPT |
| Fastest lap | Max Verstappen Red Bull-Honda RBPT |
| Circuit | Losail, 57 laps |
| Round | 17 of 22 |
| Season | 2023 Formula 1 World Championship |
The podium milestones were also notable. Verstappen claimed his 93rd podium finish, Lando Norris scored his 11th, and Oscar Piastri took the second podium of his career. McLaren recorded its 500th and 501st podium finishes across the weekend, becoming only the second constructor to reach 500 podiums, while Red Bull’s podium total moved to 258.
Verstappen also set the fastest lap for the 29th time, giving Red Bull its 94th fastest lap, and his front row start was the 55th of his career. By taking pole, victory, and fastest lap together, he recorded his 10th career hat-trick, becoming the fourth driver in Formula 1 history to achieve ten hat-tricks and the first from the Netherlands. This was also the 25th time he converted pole position into victory and the 16th time he combined a win with fastest lap.
Race Numbers
The 2023 Qatar Grand Prix was the:
| 1,096th World Championship race |
| 2nd World Championship Qatar Grand Prix (first since 2021) |
| 2nd World Championship race at Lusail (first since 2021) |
Sprint Shootout
The Sprint shootout determined the starting grid for Saturday’s Sprint race.
| Pos | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q3 | ||||
| 1 | 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 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:24.841 | 0.387 |
| 5 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 1:25.155 | 0.701 |
| 6 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:25.247 | 0.793 |
| 7 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas-Ferrari | 1:25.320 | 0.866 |
| 8 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | 1:25.382 | 0.928 |
| 9 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin-Mercedes | –– | |
| 10 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine-Renault | –– | |
| Q2 | ||||
| 11 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | 1:25.686 | |
| 12 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:25.962 | |
| 13 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1:26.236 | |
| 14 | Liam Lawson | AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT | 1:26.584 | |
| 15 | Guanyu Zhou | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1:54.546 | |
| Q1 | ||||
| 16 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 1:26.849 | |
| 17 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | 1:26.862 | |
| 18 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT | 1:26.926 | |
| 19 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 1:27.438 | |
| NC | Logan Sargeant | Williams-Mercedes | 2:05.741 | |
Sprint
| Pos | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | 19 | 35m 01.297s | 8 |
| 2 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | 19 | +1.871s | 7 |
| 3 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | 19 | +8.497s | 6 |
| 4 | George Russell | Mercedes | 19 | +11.036s | 5 |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 19 | +17.314s | 4 |
| 6 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 19 | +18.806s | 3 |
| 7 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | 19 | +19.864s | 2 |
| 8 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 19 | +21.180s | 1 |
| 9 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | 19 | +21.742s | |
| 10 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 19 | +22.208s | |
| 11 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT | 19 | +22.863s | |
| 12 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 19 | +24.860s (5.000s) | |
| 13 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 19 | +24.970s | |
| 14 | Guanyu Zhou | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 19 | +26.868s | |
| 15 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 19 | +29.523s (5.000s) | |
| R | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas-Ferrari | 11 | DNF | |
| R | Esteban Ocon | Alpine-Renault | 10 | DNF | |
| R | Sergio Perez | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | 10 | DNF | |
| R | Logan Sargeant | Williams-Mercedes | 2 | DNF | |
| R | Liam Lawson | AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT | 0 | DNF |
Leclerc originally finished seventh in the Sprint, while Stroll originally finished 13th.
Qualifying
| Pos | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q3 | ||||
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | 1:23.778 | |
| 2 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:24.219 | 0.441 |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:24.305 | 0.527 |
| 4 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 1:24.369 | 0.591 |
| 5 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:24.424 | 0.646 |
| 6 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:24.540 | 0.762 |
| 7 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | 1:24.553 | 0.775 |
| 8 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine-Renault | 1:24.763 | 0.985 |
| 9 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1:25.058 | 1.280 |
| 10 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | –– | |
| Q2 | ||||
| 11 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT | 1:25.301 | |
| 12 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 1:25.328 | |
| 13 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | 1:25.462 | |
| 14 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | 1:25.707 | |
| 15 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas-Ferrari | 1:25.783 | |
| Q1 | ||||
| 16 | Logan Sargeant | Williams-Mercedes | 1:26.210 | |
| 17 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 1:26.345 | |
| 18 | Liam Lawson | AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT | 1:26.635 | |
| 19 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 1:27.046 | |
| 20 | Guanyu Zhou | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1:27.432 | |
Starting Grid
| Pos | Driver | Constructor |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda RBPT |
| 2 | George Russell | Mercedes |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes |
| 4 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin-Mercedes |
| 5 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari |
| 6 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes |
| 7 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault |
| 8 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine-Renault |
| 9 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari |
| 10 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes |
| 11 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT |
| 12 | ||
| 13 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes |
| 14 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas-Ferrari |
| 15 | Logan Sargeant | Williams-Mercedes |
| 16 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Mercedes |
| 17 | Liam Lawson | AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT |
| 18 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari |
| 19 | Guanyu Zhou | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari |
| Started from the pit lane | ||
| Pit Lane | Sergio Perez | Red Bull-Honda RBPT |
Race Results
| Pos | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | 57 | 1hr 27m 39.168s | 26 FL |
| 2 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | 57 | +4.833s | 18 |
| 3 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | 57 | +5.969s | 15 |
| 4 | George Russell | Mercedes | 57 | +34.119s | 12 |
| 5 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 57 | +38.976s | 10 |
| 6 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 57 | +49.032s | 8 |
| 7 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine-Renault | 57 | +1m 02.390s | 6 |
| 8 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 57 | +1m 06.563s | 4 |
| 9 | Guanyu Zhou | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 57 | +1m 16.127s | 2 |
| 10 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | 57 | +1m 20.181s (5.000s) | 1 |
| 11 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 57 | +1m 21.652s (10.000s) | |
| 12 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | 57 | +1m 22.300s (10.000s) | |
| 13 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | 57 | +1m 31.014s (10.000s) | |
| 14 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 56 | +1 lap | |
| 15 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT | 56 | +1 lap | |
| 16 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas-Ferrari | 56 | +1 lap | |
| 17 | Liam Lawson | AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT | 56 | +1 lap | |
| R | Logan Sargeant | Williams-Mercedes | 40 | DNF | |
| R | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 0 | DNF | |
| Did not start | |||||
| DNS | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | – | DNS | |
Sergio Perez received a post-race five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits and originally finished 11th.
Lance Stroll and Pierre Gasly each received post-race ten-second penalties for exceeding track limits and originally finished ninth and 10th, respectively.
Alexander Albon also received a ten-second post-race penalty for exceeding track limits, although his finishing position was unaffected.
Championship Standings
How the championship standings stood post-race.
Driver
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen | 433 |
| 2 | Sergio Perez | 224 |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | 194 |
| 4 | Fernando Alonso | 183 |
| 5 | Carlos Sainz | 153 |
| 6 | Charles Leclerc | 145 |
| 7 | Lando Norris | 136 |
| 8 | George Russell | 132 |
| 9 | Oscar Piastri | 83 |
| 10 | Lance Stroll | 47 |
| 11 | Pierre Gasly | 46 |
| 12 | Esteban Ocon | 44 |
| 13 | Alexander Albon | 23 |
| 14 | Valtteri Bottas | 10 |
| 15 | Nico Hulkenberg | 9 |
| 16 | Guanyu Zhou | 6 |
| 17 | Yuki Tsunoda | 3 |
| 18 | Kevin Magnussen | 3 |
| 19 | Liam Lawson | 2 |
Constructor
| Pos | Constructor | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | 657 |
| 2 | Mercedes | 326 |
| 3 | Ferrari | 298 |
| 4 | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 230 |
| 5 | McLaren-Mercedes | 219 |
| 6 | Alpine-Renault | 90 |
| 7 | Williams-Mercedes | 23 |
| 8 | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 16 |
| 9 | Haas-Ferrari | 12 |
| 10 | AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT | 5 |
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