October 14, 2023
Don’t worry, I’m alive! Unfortunately, I was not able to write a recap earlier in the week, but so much happened in this race that it is worth the late post. Here is your 2023 Qatar Grand Prix Weekend Recap:
Free-Practice 1: October 6, 2023
The weekend’s singular practice session was action-packed as teams and drivers tried to collect as much data as possible. Teams stuck to running one or two long-stints before switching over to Qualifying simulations. Verstappen and Red Bull were at the top while the Ferraris had a promising first session in P2 and P3, and the rest of the grid filtered in behind.
Qualifying: October 6, 2023
After just one practice session, it was time for Qualifying. It was track limits galore for the stewards as drivers continuously went wide trying to set their best times. Q1 saw Sargeant (P16), Stroll (P17), Lawson (P18), Magnussen (P19), and Zhou (P20) eliminated. Stroll’s performance was especially disappointing because his teammate was up in the top five while he sat at the bottom of the grid. In Q2, a great deal of traffic caught Tsunoda (P11), Sainz (P12), Perez (P13), Albon (P14), and Hulkenberg (P15) out. Yuki Tsunoda was just 4-thousandths of a second away from Q3, and Sainz and Perez’s shock Quali exits were due to track limits violations. The track limits penalties didn’t stop with Red Bull and Ferrari though. In Q3, Verstappen took pole with Norris, Russell, Piastri, and Hamilton behind. However, the McLarens of Norris and Piastri both had their lap times deleted, promoting the Mercedes duo to P2 and P3 and relegating the McLarens to P10 and P6.
Sprint Shootout: October 7, 2023
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Oscar Piastri celebrating his pole position |
After teams reported some tire troubles on Friday, a Pirelli investigation found that the track conditions caused dangerously high tire degradation. As a result, they re-evaluated track limits at certain corners and gave drivers an extra 10 minute practice session to adjust to the changes.
Sprint Shootout for this weekend mandated medium compound tires for SQ1 and SQ2, and softs for SQ3. Although the track boundaries were changed, track limits was still a major issue. Stroll (P16), Albon (P17), Tsunoda (P18), Magnussen (P19), and Sargeant (P20) were eliminated in SQ1 because their lap times were deleted. Gasly (P11), Hamilton (P12), Bottas (P13), Lawson (P14), and Zhou (P15) were the next five to go before Verstappen, Norris, and Piastri battled for pole position in SQ3. Piastri ultimately took pole, ahead of teammate Lando Norris to make it a McLaren front row lockout. It may not have been pole, but Verstappen’s P3 qualifying put him in a position to win the championship in the Sprint as Perez, his teammate and championship “rival”, only qualified P8.
Sprint Race: October 7, 2023
Piastri had an amazing start from pole as he pulled away from Norris and Verstappen, who lost out to soft-running Russell, Sainz, and Leclerc behind. Meanwhile, Lawson lost control and spun into the gravel, suffering his first DNF in F1 and bringing out a Safety Car.
The restart saw Russell take the lead from Piastri just before Sargeant crashed into the gravel and brought out another Safety Car. This allowed those who had made the risky choice of starting on softs make their first pitstops without losing too much pace. Although he was on softs, Russell opted to stay out and maintain his lead. Russell then aced the restart again and put some two seconds between himself and Piastri in P2 within a few corners.
By Lap 10, Verstappen had made his way back up to third as Piastri closed in on the soft-shod Russell to retake the lead. Then, Perez, Hulkenberg, and Ocon went three-wide into Turn 2 and made contact, sending Perez and Ocon into the gravel with heavy damage. A Safety Car was called to clear the track, and Hulkenberg retired soon after due to damage. Perez’s crash meant that unless Verstappen failed to finish the race, he would be crowned a three time world champion.
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| The cars went three wide and ran out of room |
It looked like third time was the charm when Piastri mastered the third Safety Car restart to extend his lead. Behind, Verstappen quickly got past Russell for P2, with the Brit bemoaning the team’s tire choice. Norris also managed his way ahead of both Ferraris in one fell swoop.
Although Verstappen tried his hardest to catch Piastri, the Aussie ultimately came home to take his first F1 win. Verstappen finished in P2, with an impressive third consecutive Drivers Championship under his belt, and Norris came in third to make it yet another McLaren double podium. And in true Alex Albon fashion, the Williams driver made an impressive return from starting P17 to P7.
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| There were two winners after Saturday's Sprint |
After the race, Leclerc and Stroll were given penalties for exceeding track limits, putting Leclerc in P12 and Stroll in fifteenth.
Race: October 8, 2023
Following Saturday morning’s changes to help tire life, the FIA implemented a mandatory limit of 18 laps per set of tires as a safety precaution for the race. Since drivers now had to pit every 18 laps, the race required at least 3 pit stops.
Prior to the start of the race, Perez was moved to a pit lane start after extensive repairs were made to his car following his crash in the Sprint. It was also announced that Sainz would withdraw from the race after a fuel system issue was found in his Ferrari.
Verstappen, Russell, and Hammilton had good starts as they battled for the lead into the first corner. Hamilton tried to go around the outside to overtake his teammate but ended up tagging Russell instead, spinning into the gravel and losing his right-rear tire. A Safety Car was brought out and Russell pit for repairs and dropped down to P20. Verstappen now led Piastri, who had an amazing start from sixth, and Alonso.
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| Hamilton lost his right-rear tire |
Further back, Hulkenberg was given a 10-second penalty for incorrect starting position. Replays showed the German accidentally pulling into Sainz’s grid spot, which was supposed to be left empty, instead of his own.
By Lap 11, front-runners like Ocon, Alonso, Piastri, and Leclerc began to pit. Red Bull pitted on Lap 17 and released Albon, who hadn’t stopped yet, into the lead. Unfortunately the Williams driver’s lead didn’t last long as he had to make his mandatory stop on the following lap.
The second round of stops came around lap 25, when Piastri and Alonso pitted for Mediums. By this point in the race, conditions were becoming hard to bear as Alonso requested that the team pour water over him in the pitstop to cool his burning seat. Sargeant also began to feel ill and after trying to power through the fatigue, he retired on Lap 41 due to sheer exhaustion. Honestly, it was a little disturbing to see race conditions make a driver so tired that he couldn't race anymore.
Lap 44 marked the final part of the race. The McLarens pitted for hards after their two Medium stints and were instructed to hold position until the end of the race, meaning Piastri would end up ahead of Norris. Verstappen managed to keep his cool (literally, he was one of the only drivers who didn’t completely overheat) and brought home another win for Red Bull. The McLarens of Piastri and Norris completed the podium, making it two McLaren double podiums in a row.
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| The 2023 Qatar GP Podium |
Russell, finishing P4, had an impressive recovery drive after his collision with Hamilton. By finishing ahead of Leclerc, he kept Mercedes ahead of Ferrari in the Constructors championship.
Keeping with the theme of the weekend, track limits were an issue throughout the race. Perez received 3 different 5-second penalties, and Stroll, Gasly, and Albon each received one penalty after the race.
The Qatar Grand Prix, and weekend as a whole, may have been eventful and entertaining, but the dangerous conditions cannot be ignored. I think the fact that the FIA had to add an extra practice session to accommodate the dangers of the track speaks volumes about the unsafe conditions of this race. Drivers were pushed to their absolute limit: Sargeant retired due to exhaustion, Ocon later revealed that he threw up in his helmet around Lap 14, Alonso’s seat was burning hot, and many drives didn’t have the energy to get out of their cars after the race. Even the three podium sitters were on the floor and downing water as they tried to cool down before the podium ceremony. The 18 lap limit to help with tire degradation added to the difficult conditions, as drivers were basically completing qualifying laps to make up for the time they lost in their many pit stops. I think F1 needs to think long and hard before they host another Qatar Grand Prix because even though it was fun, it wasn’t worth the health of the drivers.
That’s all for now! I will be back later in the week for the US Grand Prix!
- Divya
Where I got these
from: