Another Formula 1 race and another Max Verstappen victory as the Dutchman raced away from the rest of the field to take victory at the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix as he further confirmed his lead in the Driver Standings and celebrated his third world title in style.
Oscar Piastri may have won the F1 Sprint Race on Saturday, but it was Verstappen who stole the headline as his second place confirmed the Dutchman as 2023 F1 World Drivers’ Champion. The Red Bull driver the followed that up with victory in the 2023 Qatar GP on Sunday.
Mercedes pair of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton started second and third on the grid, respectively, but collided at Turn 1 with the seven-time champion having to retire from the race as a result.
F1 2023 Driver Standings after Qatar GP
Second place in the 2023 Qatar GP Sprint Race confirmed Verstappen as 2023 world champion and even before that race had finished, the crash involving Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez meant he was champion before the chequered flag. Lewis Hamilton managed to close the gap slightly to Perez in the Driver Standings.
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 433 |
| 2 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 224 |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 194 |
| 4 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 183 |
| 5 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 153 |
| 6 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 145 |
| 7 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 136 |
| 8 | George Russell | Mercedes | 132 |
| 9 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 83 |
| 10 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 47 |
| 11 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 46 |
| 12 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 44 |
| 13 | Alex Albon | Williams | 23 |
| 14 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | 10 |
| 15 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | 9 |
| 16 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo | 6 |
| 17 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 3 |
| 18 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 3 |
| 19 | Liam Lawson | AlphaTauri | 2 |
| 20 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | 0 |
| 21 | Nyck De Vries | AlphaTauri | 0 |
| 22 | Daniel Ricciardo | AlphaTauri | 0 |
F1 2023 Constructor Standings after Qatar GP
Meanwhile in the Constructor Standings, Red Bull had already sealed the title, and the battle for second looks to be between Mercedes and Ferrari with the gap extending to 28 points between the teams. Meanwhile, McLaren are creeping up on Aston Martin and are just 11 points adrift.
| Pos. | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Red Bull | 657 |
| 2 | Mercedes | 326 |
| 3 | Ferrari | 298 |
| 4 | Aston Martin | 230 |
| 5 | McLaren | 219 |
| 6 | Alpine | 90 |
| 7 | Williams | 23 |
| 8 | Alfa Romeo | 16 |
| 9 | Haas | 12 |
| 10 | AlphaTauri | 5 |
