F1 Qatar GP: Newly-crowned Max Verstappen takes 14th win of 2023 as Mercedes duo collide
Max Verstappen celebrated his newly-claimed third F1 world title with victory in the Qatar Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton and George Russell crashed into each other.
As he has been all season, Verstappen, who clinched his third world championship with a second-place finish in Saturday’s sprint race, was untouchable on his way to making it 14 victories from 17 races in a race that became a minimum three-stopper due to unprecedented safety measures enforced amid tyre concerns.
Behind the dominant Dutchman, Oscar Piastri followed up his first F1 victory in the sprint by holding off teammate Lando Norris for second place as McLaren claimed their second double podium in as many days.
A four-stopping Russell impressively managed to recover to fourth following his dramatic first-lap collision with Hamilton, who was sent spinning off into retirement.
Charles Leclerc was fifth as the sole-running Ferrari, after an engine issue prevented teammate Carlos Sainz from taking part in the race.
Despite taking a trip through the gravel, Fernando Alonso was able to finish sixth for Aston Martin, ahead of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and the Alfa Romeo pair of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu.
Sergio Perez rose from a pit lane start to claim the final point on offer but picked up a trio of track limits penalties.
