Oscar Piastri may have won the sprint race in Qatar, but Max Verstappen secured his third consecutive world championship before the race was even over. Here’s what you need to know:
- The start of the Qatar sprint race was chaotic. Within the first four laps, two safety cars were deployed after Liam Lawson and Logan Sargeant found themselves beached in the gravel a few laps apart.
- The safety cars ultimately helped the drivers on soft tires, not only in terms of tire life but also being quicker on the restart compared to medium tires.
- On lap 11, Sergio Pérez, Esteban Ocon and Nico Hülkenberg went three-wide. Pérez and Ocon ended up in the gravel, bringing out another safety car and handing Verstappen the championship.
- Lando Norris picked off George Russell on the last lap to make it a one-three finish for McLaren. The 14-point haul from the sprint race takes a fairly big chunk out of Aston Martin’s lead over the Woking-based team in the standings, making it a 35-point gap.
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Provisional sprint race results
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
- Lando Norris (McLaren)
- George Russell (Mercedes)
- Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
- Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
- Alex Albon (Williams)
- Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
- Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
- Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)
- Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri)
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
- Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo)
- Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
DNF — Nico Hülkenberg (Haas)
DNF — Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
DNF — Sergio Pérez (Red Bull)
DNF — Logan Sargeant (Williams)
DNF — Liam Lawson (AlphaTauri)
*After the sprint race, the stewards handed both Lance Stroll and Charles Leclerc five-second time penalties for “leaving the track without a justifiable reason multiple times.”
For more on the Qatar sprint race, see The Athletic’s live blog.
The newest F1 race winner
As the world of Formula One focuses on Verstappen’s coronation, another storyline may fly under the radar.
It may be a sprint race, but Piastri is now an F1 race winner after competing in just 16 grands prix and three other sprint races. He secured pole position in the sprint shootout earlier Saturday, and after starting on the medium tire, it became a waiting game for his tires to come alive and for the soft tires to begin dropping off. Safety cars played in his favor, particularly the last one, the rookie said.
“I was obviously happy to win the sprint,” Piastri said. “I have to say, it’s a bit of a weird feeling because it’s not a race win. It does feel a little bit strange.”
Piastri stayed calm, which is typical for his personality, despite the chaos that unfolded, losing the lead to Russell at one point and as Verstappen climbed up the grid behind him.
“Keeping Oscar calm is very easy, because he has this amazing natural characteristic of keeping himself in the most productive state as an athlete, as a driver,” McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said to F1 TV. “And in a way, we prepared this sprint before we started with the fact that, had there been some soft starters, it could have been difficult at the start, but we knew the softs were going to struggle. So the race would have come to us.”
But as the sprint race unfolded, a new concern emerged: How long could the medium tire last? Stella said drivers revealed the compound began graining after a few laps; therefore, “we were nervous more for the behavior of the tires rather than the overtaking. That it was as long as we stay out of trouble we know it was going to come to us.”
Verstappen calls his third title “the best one”
The Dutchman is just the 11th driver in Formula One history to win the world championship three times, and when asked about his three title seasons, 2023 — his most dominant year — is “the best one.”
“I think the first one was the most emotional one as that’s when your dreams are fulfilled in F1. This one has been my best year so far, consecutive wins and stuff,” Verstappen said. “The car itself has been probably in the best shape. For me, this one is probably the one I’m most proud of because of consistency.”
Thirteen grand prix wins, 11 pole positions, seven fastest laps — all in the span of 16 race weekends (plus Friday’s qualifying for Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix). Verstappen has consistently been ahead of the field, winning 10 consecutive grands prix until Carlos Sainz snapped the Red Bull driver’s streak in Singapore.
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As team principal Christian Horner said, it’s “unusual” winning the world championship on a Saturday, “but do you know what? Achieving a world championship is the most magical feeling and something as a team you have to celebrate that moment. You have to be in the now, basically.”
The team plans to celebrate with non-alcoholic beers and Red Bulls, according to Horner, but there’s also the need to prepare for Sunday’s grand prix.
Unlike Saturday, Verstappen will be starting the grand prix on pole. And the McLarens will be a bit farther back compared to the sprint race. Though the MCL60 appeared fairly competitive and Piastri kept Verstappen behind, the Dutchman felt he “just needed a few more laps,” and they needed to see what would happen with the tire degradation.
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(Photo: Mark Thompson / Getty Images)
