Piastri wins hectic sprint as Verstappen crowned champion for third time
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The McLaren driver had to fightback against a fast-starting George Russell, who made early progress with extra grip on his soft tyres, to claim his first victory in F1. F1 Qatar Grand Prix 2023 – Sprint Race ResultsVerstappen recovered from a slow-start that saw him drop as low as fifth to claim second place and be crowned a three-time world champion. Lando Norris picked off Russell – whose soft tyres fell off a cliff – on the final lap to make it a McLaren 1-3 on the podium.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton recovered from a poor sprint shootout that left him 12th on the grid as he took fifth. Like Russell, the soft-running Ferrari’s of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc faded in the closing stages as they dramatically slipped to sixth and seventh. Alex Albon claimed the final point on offer in his Williams, ahead of Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly. The 19-lap race was punctuated by three Safety Car periods. The first was caused when Liam Lawson spun off on the opening lap, before the same fate befall the under-pressure Logan Sargeant three laps later. A three-way collision that took out Sergio Perez, Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Ocon resulted in the third and final Safety Car on Lap 11. Related The elite list of F1 world champions Verstappen has joined Stroll labelled Aston Martin’s “weakness” by critical Rosberg
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