George Russell (GBR) Mercedes AMG F1 W14 leads behind the Aston Martin FIA Safety Car. 07.10.2023. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 18, Qatar Grand Prix, Doha, Qatar, Sprint Day. – www.xpbimages.com, EMail: [email protected] © Copyright: Moy / XPB Images
Oscar Piastri drove to a controlling victory in a thrilling Formula 1 Qatar Sprint which saw three safety car interventions.
Tyre choice was split throughout the grid, with the leading trio all fitted with the Medium tyres while many gambled on the Softs in search of an advantage in the early stages.
Piastri preserved his lead into Turn 1, but Lando Norris and Max Verstappen were both shuffled down the order in the opening exchanges.
George Russell and Carlos Sainz both had excellent launches off the grid, jumping to second and third respectively. Liam Lawson found himself beached in the gravel after contact with Logan Sargeant, bringing out a Safety Car.
Equipped with the Soft tyres, Russell capitalised upon the Safety Car restart with a lunge on Piastri to take control of the race.
Sargeant would have another moment, this time on his own, spinning off into the gravel. He too became beached, triggering another Safety Car.
The Soft compound appeared to fade rapidly as by Lap 11, Piastri had regained the lead, Verstappen had made his way into the top three and Norris too was starting to make ground on the Ferraris.
A three-way tangle between Esteban Ocon, Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez saw all three drivers retire with significant damage, resulting in a third Safety Car spell.
Piastri broke away at the restart, opening up a 2.5s gap to Verstappen by the time he found his way past the struggling Russell.
Piastri prevailed to secure a maiden victory in the series, albeit not in the main event. Likewise, Perez’s retirement saw Verstappen crowned World Champion for the third consecutive time.
Norris recovered to third as the Soft runners continued to fall, joining his McLaren team-mate in the top three.
Russell was the highest of the Soft finishers, followed by Hamilton on the Mediums.
Sainz headed Ferrari team-mate Leclerc across the line while the Williams of Alex Albon recovered to eighth to take the final point.
Position | Driver | Team | Gap | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | ||||
2 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1.871 | |||
3 | George Russell | Mercedes | 8.497 | |||
4 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 11.036 | |||
5 | Carlos Sainz Jr | Ferrari | 17.314 | |||
6 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 18.806 | |||
7 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 19.860 | |||
8 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 19.864 | |||
9 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 21.180 | |||
10 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | 21.742 | |||
11 | Alex Albon | Williams | 22.208 | |||
12 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 22.863 | |||
13 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 24.523 | |||
14 | Guanyu Zhou | Alfa Romeo | 24.970 | |||
15 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 26.868 | |||
16 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | DNF | |||
17 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | DNF | |||
18 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | DNF | |||
19 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | DNF | |||
20 | Liam Lawson | AlphaTauri | DNF |
Keyword: F1 2023 Qatar GP – Sprint Results