Verstappen records the fourth Grand Slam of his career, McLaren record consecutive double podium results for the first time in 13 years and Alfa Romeo take their first double points finish of the season. Here are the facts and statistics from the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix!
VERSTAPPEN WINS THE 2023 QATAR GRAND PRIX
Max Verstappen took victory in the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix, recording the 49th victory of his Formula 1 career.
The 2023 Qatar Grand Prix was Verstappen’s 14th win of the 2023 season. He is the only driver to have won 14 Grands Prix in a single year and is one victory away from equalling his own record – set last year – for most victories in a season.
Lusail Circuit becomes the 24th different circuit at which Verstappen has taken victory in Formula 1. That sees him overtake Michael Schumacher for second place in the list of most venues with a victory.
During the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix, Verstappen set a new record for the most laps led in a single season. Verstappen has led 769 laps so far this year. That’s 75.47% of the total Grand Prix laps raced – which is also a record.
Having taken pole, set the fastest lap, led every lap and won the race, Verstappen recorded the fourth Grand Slam of his Formula 1 career at the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix. He’s only the ninth driver to record as many as four Grand Slams during his career.
ON THE PODIUM AT LUSAIL CIRCUIT
The two McLaren drivers joined Max Verstappen on the podium at the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix. As a result, McLaren became only the second team to record 500 podium finishes in Formula 1. Ferrari were the first team to achieve the feat. They did so over 20 years ago, at the 2002 Hungarian Grand Prix.
With both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri having also finished in the top three at the last race, this was the first time McLaren recorded a double podium result at two consecutive races since the 2010 Canadian and European Grands Prix.
Norris became the first McLaren driver to finish on the podium at three consecutive races since Lewis Hamilton at the first three races of the 2012 season.
Sprint race winner Piastri recorded his best Grand Prix result to date with second place. This was Piastri’s eighth points-scoring Grands Prix and second is the eighth different points-scoring position in which the Australian has finished.
Piastri was voted Driver Of The Day for the second race in a row.
Norris recorded the first podium finish from 10th on the grid since Max Verstappen won the 2022 Hungarian Grand Prix having started in the same position.
The 2023 Qatar Grand Prix was the third time that the drivers starting 1st, 6th and 10th finished on the podium together, after the 1974 Canadian Grand Prix and the 2012 German Grand Prix.
IN THE TOP TEN
Despite colliding with team-mate Lewis Hamilton on Lap 1, George Russell finished fourth in the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix. That made this the 55th consecutive race in which Mercedes have scored points, equalling the fourth-longest scoring streak for a team in Formula 1 history.
Charles Leclerc finished fifth in the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix, recording a fourth consecutive top five finish. It’s his longest run of top five finishes since his five consecutive podiums between the 2022 Dutch and United States Grands Prix.
Sixth place in the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix marked Fernando Alonso’s best result since his last podium at the Dutch Grand Prix.
Finishing seventh, Esteban Ocon recorded his best race result since his podium finish at the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix.
Alfa Romeo recorded their first double points finish of the season at the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix. With Valtteri Bottas eighth and Zhou Guanyu ninth, this was the first time both Alfa Romeo drivers finished in the points since the 2022 Canadian Grand Prix.
Both Alfa Romeo drivers equalled their best result of the season at the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix. Bottas also finished eighth in Bahrain, while Zhou previously finished ninth in Australia and Spain.
Zhou gained ten positions from where he started over the course of the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix. It’s the most positions he’s gained in a Formula 1 race.
After a raft of time penalties, Sergio Perez finished only tenth at the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix. This was Perez’s first tenth place finish since the 2020 Italian Grand Prix.
With both Verstappen and Perez scoring, the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix was Red Bull’s 38th consecutive points-scoring race. It equalled the team’s longest scoring streak, having scored at 38 consecutive races twice previously. The team is yet to score at 39 races in a row.
THE OTHER FINISHERS
Finishing 11th at the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix, Lance Stroll equalled his best result of the last five races.
Stroll is one of only two drivers, along with Esteban Ocon, who gained positions from where they started at the Qatar Grand Prix in both 2021 and 2023.
Pierre Gasly finished 12th, failing to score for the first time since the Italian Grand Prix. He lost five positions over the course of the Qatar Grand Prix – the first time he’s finished in a worse position than where he started in a race where he’s reached the chequered flag since the 2023 Austrian Grand Prix.
With Yuki Tsunoda 15th and Liam Lawson 17th, Tsunoda finished ahead of Lawson for the first time during their stint as AlphaTauri team-mates.
As a result of not leading the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix, Kevin Magnussen equalled Martin Brundle as the driver to have started the most Grands Prix without leading any laps. Magnussen has led two laps in Formula 1, but that was during the Sprint race at the 2022 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, not in the Grand Prix itself.
THE RETIREES
Carlos Sainz failed to start the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix due to a fuel leak. This marked the second DNS of Sainz’s career, with him last failing to start with McLaren at the 2020 Belgian Grand Prix.
After a Turn 1 collision with his team-mate, Lewis Hamilton was out of the race on the first lap. The 2023 Qatar Grand Prix marked Hamilton’s sixth first lap retirement in Formula 1 – his first since the 2022 Belgian Grand Prix.
The 2023 Qatar Grand Prix was Hamilton’s first retirement of the 2023 season. He last failed to finish – and failed to score points – at the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. It leaves Max Verstappen, Lando Norris and Fernando Alonso as the only drivers to have completed every race so far this season.
Many drivers struggled with the hot conditions in the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix. Logan Sargeant was forced to retire after feeling unwell. The American recorded consecutive retirements for the first time in his career as a result. It was his sixth DNF in total.