MOTORSPORT: Piastri wins F1 sprint
And Verstappen claims world championship five races earlyFresh from lodging his first Formula 1 podium, Australian rookie Oscar Piastri has claimed his maiden F1 success by winning the Sprint race at the Qatar Grand Prix at the Lusail International Circuit, and backed it up with a fine second position result in the main race yesterday.
Starting from pole position for the short Saturday evening Sprint race, Piastri had to overcome three safety car appearances and an early challenge from the Mercedes of George Russell, who was running an alternate tyre strategy, to claim the chequered flag.
The victory was the second for the McLaren squad in 11 years, following Daniel Ricciardo’s success for the team at Monza in 2021, and follows one event on from Piastri’s maiden F1 podium in Japan.
“Very happy, a very stressful race. When I saw all the soft tyre guys come through at the start, I thought we were in a bit of trouble and then their tyres fell off pretty quickly, so that was good,” said Piastri.
“Safety Cars were my friend today, definitely once Max [Verstappen] got behind me.
“But the pace was reasonable and I think in a race where you had to manage the tyres, cars on other compounds, we did a really good job, so very happy.”
Second place in the sprint was enough for Verstappen (Red Bull) to claim his third F1 crown, joining Jack Brabham, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna, with the feat also equaling Juan Manuel Fangio, Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton, who registered three consecutive titles.
Verstappen’s only mathematical threat was his teammate Sergio Perez, who needed to finish in the top three to keep his slim hopes alive, but he was eliminated when a double pass on Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) and Esteban Ocon (Alpine) went wrong, with his retirement bringing out the final safety car.
The other interruptions were caused by spins for Logan Sargeant (Williams) and Liam Lawson (AlphaTauri), who is set to make way for the returning Ricciardo at the next Grand Prix.
Elsewhere in the Sprint, Lando Norris (McLaren) converted his front-row start into third, ahead of the Mercedes duo of Russell and Lewis Hamilton.
A major story emerging from the weekend was the Pirelli tyres, which were noted to be separating in practice, with the FIA mandating three compulsory pit stops for the main race.
The main event was turned on its head at the first corner when teammates Hamilton and Russell collided, with Hamilton eliminated on the spot.
With the short stints coming into play, the drivers had to treat every lap like it was qualifying, with Verstappen running away to take victory.
After a post-qualifying penalty, Piastri started from sixth but found himself in second following the first corner incident and was able to hold on in the run home, while Norris charged through from tenth on the grid to claim third.
Elsewhere, Russell rebounded from another off mid-race to claim fourth, ahead of Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) and Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin).
Formula 1 returns on October 23 with the United States Grand Prix from the Circuit of the Americas.
2023 Qatar Sprint Results:
- Oscar Piastri, McLaren
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull
- Lando Norris, McLaren
- George Russell, Mercedes
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
- Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
- Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
- Alex Albon, Williams
- Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin
- Pierre Gasly, Alpine
2023 Qatar Grand Prix results:
- Max Verstappen
- Oscar Piastri
- Lando Norris
- George Russell
- Charles Leclerc
- Fernando Alonso
- Esteban Ocon, Alpine
- Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo
- Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo
- Sergio Perez, Red Bull
- Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
- Pierre Gasly
- Alex Albon
- Kevin Magnussen, Haas
- Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri
- Nico Hulkenberg, Haas
- Liam Lawson, AlphaTauri
- DNF. Logan Sargeant, Williams
- DNF. Lewis Hamilton
- DNF. Carlos Sainz
2023 Formula 1 championship standings:
- Max Verstappen – 433
- Sergio Perez – 224
- Lewis Hamilton – 194
- Fernando Alonso – 183
- Carlos Sainz – 153
- Charles Leclerc – 145
- Lando Norris – 136
- George Russell – 132
- Oscar Piastri – 83
- Lance Stroll – 47
Related: MOTORSPORT: Piastri breaks through for maiden F1 podium
Related: MOTORSPORT: Sainz wins in Singapore F1 Grand Prix thriller
Related: MOTORSPORT: Verstappen makes it eight straight in Belgium
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