Verstappen is on the verge of clinching a third title but there’s plenty to be decided behind him, with Mercedes vs Ferrari and McLaren vs Aston Martin being the focal points as F1 returns to Qatar. Here’s who to look out for and who to back in the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix!
After a one year absence – due to the country hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2022 – Qatar is back on the Formula 1 calendar. The 2023 Qatar Grand Prix will be the second time F1 has raced around Lusail Circuit, a venue more accustomed to hosting motorcycle racing which has been extensively renovated since the sport’s last visit in 2021.
With just six races remaining this year, the on-track action is hotting up as the drivers and teams compete for valuable positions in the championship. The battles will be raging on this weekend –and a champion could be crowned too.
There’s additional racing action this weekend, with the Qatar Grand Prix playing host to the fourth Sprint weekend of the year. That means all-important Grand Prix qualifying is on Friday night, before the 100km standalone Sprint on Saturday.
Verstappen could win the title on Saturday
Red Bull wrapped up the Constructors’ Championship at the Japanese Grand Prix two weeks ago, winning the title for the sixth time in their history. Now, this weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix is Max Verstappen’s first opportunity to wrap up a third consecutive Drivers’ Championship.
Unusually, Verstappen can get the job done on Saturday thanks to the Qatar Grand Prix weekend utilising the Sprint format. If he does seal the deal in the Sprint, it would be the first time in 40 years that a driver has won the title on a Saturday.
Simply put, Verstappen will win the title on Saturday if he finishes in the top six. Team-mate Sergio Perez is the only man who could stop Verstappen winning the title on Saturday – he must finish in the top four to stand any chance of doing so. Even if Verstappen fails to get the job done on Saturday, a title victory on Sunday remains highly likely.
Given his rarely beatable form in 2023 – with 13 wins to his name so far this year – Verstappen could well win the title in style and add yet another top step trophy to his collection at the Qatar Grand Prix. Having never previously won in Qatar, a Grand Prix win this weekend would see Verstappen take victory at a 24th different circuit – overtaking Michael Schumacher for second on the list of most circuits at which a driver has won.
Ferrari and Mercedes battle for second
Mercedes were victorious last time F1 visited Lusail Circuit for the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix. Since then, the team has had only two further victories: for Lewis Hamilton at the following race in Saudi Arabia and for George Russell at last year’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix. 2023 is set to be Mercedes’ first season without a victory since 2011, unless they can pull out a surprise result in the remaining six races of the year.
The fight between Ferrari and Mercedes for second place in the Constructors’ Championship is intensifying, with just 20 points separating Mercedes in second and Ferrari in third. The Scuderia have been gaining in recent years, buoyed on by Carlos Sainz’s win at the Singapore Grand Prix. Who’ll come out best of the rest behind Red Bull this year? Its a tricky one to call!
Podium 500 for McLaren?
Neither Mercedes nor Ferrari finished on the podium at the last race. Instead, two weeks ago at the Japanese Grand Prix, McLaren recorded their first double podium result in two years with Lando Norris finishing as runner-up and Oscar Piastri recording his maiden podium with third place. Piastri’s rookie season keeps going from strength to strength, with the Suzuka race making him the first rookie to finish on the podium since 2017 and the first rookie to lead a Grand Prix lap in a decade. McLaren’s latest podium successes see them one top three finish away from becoming only the second team in F1 history – after Ferrari – to record 500 podium finishes. With five podium finishes in the last seven races, it seems a milestone 500th visit to the rostrum is an achievable target for McLaren at the Qatar Grand Prix.
Aston Martin under increasing pressure
After the Austrian Grand Prix in July, McLaren sat 146 points behind Aston Martin in the Constructors’ Championship. After their magnificent mid-season turnaround and Aston Martin’s slide down the competitive order, McLaren are now just 49 points away from fourth place in the standings.
At Aston Martin, Lance Stroll has failed to score in any of the last four races, while Fernando Alonso’s podium appearances have become increasingly infrequent and he has scored only six points in the last three races. Alonso did finish on the podium last time Formula 1 visited Qatar in 2021. He’s at 9/1 for another top three appearance this weekend.
Sargeant yet to be confirmed for 2024
It has been a relatively quiet ‘Silly Season’ in Formula 1 this year, with most of the driver line-ups set to remain the same in 2024 as they have been in 2023. There’s now just one seat left to be confirmed for next year. The seat in question is the second seat at Williams, currently occupied by Logan Sargeant.
Sargeant has lots of competition for the seat and needs to start performing better relative to teammate Alex Albon to secure his seat at the team for next year. Albon has scored 21 points so far this year, while Sargeant is the only full-time driver yet to score.
The American has shown flashes of promise in his rookie season – like his Q3 appearance at the Dutch Grand Prix – but it has been a season overshadowed by a number of clumsy incidents which have cost the Williams team an estimated $4 million in damage.
Sargeant needs a trouble-free weekend in Qatar and a point or two would go a long way in helping persuade Williams bosses that he’s the man for the seat next year.
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