Verstappen secures Qatar GP win to round off championship-winning weekend

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen secured the Qatar Grand Prix race win in a weekend where the Dutch driver secured his third consecutive world championship on Saturday.

Verstappen will leave the Middle Eastern country with another win to his tally and another championship under his belt. It was another masterclass from the Dutchman as he controlled the pace from start to finish to end the race ahead of the two McLarens.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris completed the podium in second and third respectively, after the two Mercedes drivers collided at the start of the race at the first corner.

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz did not start the race as the team found a fuel leak with his Ferrari and were unable to sort out an issue with the fuel system before the race. 

Williams Logan Sargeant retired from the race later on as the American driver was complaining of feeling unwell. However, he was not the only one who felt a bit hot under the cover as all the drivers felt the physical demands of the race.

How the race unfolded…

As the lights went out, Verstappen edged out into the lead as the Dutchman led the pack around the first corner. However, the safety car was quickly deployed as the two Mercedes collided. Sir Lewis Hamilton attempted a move around the outside of Russell and the latter soon tagged the seven-time world champion, this sent Hamilton’s right-rear tyre flying off its rim and the car into the gravel.

As Russell’s wounded Mercedes slowly returned to the pit lane, it allowed Piastri and Fernando Alonso to complete the top three. Once the race resumed, Verstappen as per usual controlled the pace of the field.

A number of drivers quickly peeled into the pit lane in the coming laps afterwards as a result of the restricted 18-lap maximum stint, enforced by the FIA and Pirelli. However, a handful of drivers pushed their stint out to the maximum such as the race leader Verstappen, who popped into the pit lane at the end of his maximum lap on the mediums.

This then allowed Williams’ Alexander Albon to lead his first race for Williams, as Verstappen filtered back out onto the circuit in second, a few seconds behind.

As the race progressed, Hulkenberg served a 10-second time penalty as he started in the incorrect grid spot, when the German rocked up to the grid he accidentally pulled into the absent Carlos Sainz’s pit box which prompted the penalty.

However, many drivers had begun to rack up a number of track limit violations and were handed five-second time penalties as a result such as Red Bull’s Sergio Perez.

Williams’ Logan Sargeant was the next driver to retire from the race as he felt unwell during the race. Although the American driver tried to brave it out, he could not physically make it to the end and peeled into the pit lane on lap 41. He was later seen out of the car, supported by the team.

In the end, it was the usual man on top as Verstappen claimed his 14th victory of the season, one off his and the sport’s all-time record of most wins in a season, while the two McLarens of Piastri and Norris rounded out the podium.

Russell managed to pull back a hefty amount of points as he finished fourth, one place ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc as the two teams continue to fight it out for second in the constructors championship.

That’s all for the article: Verstappen secures Qatar GP win to round of championship winning weekend!

Read more Formula 1 here:

• Carlos Sainz out of Qatar GP with fuel problem
• Verstappen gets special helmet to celebrate third title win
• Piastri secures Qatar GP Sprint Race as Verstappen crowned champion
• Max Verstappen is crowned 2023 Formula 1 world champion
• F1 Sprint Qatar GP: Piastri heads McLaren 1-2 ahead of Sprint
• F1 2023 Qatar GP: Verstappen on pole as Perez falls to 13th

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Kamron Kent

Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.

I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

Kamron Kent

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.