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The Qatar Grand Prix proved a extreme problem to finish for a lot of drivers, but it surely was the technique restrictions imposed on groups that impacted the ending order greater than the intense local weather situations.
An exception to that rule was at Williams, the place Logan Sargeant retired within the remaining third of the race resulting from scuffling with the warmth and dehydration. His group mate Alex Albon in the meantime got here thirteenth, however within the dash race on Saturday had picked up two factors for seventh place whereas Sargeant had spun out.
Albon ran in second place for 4 laps in the course of the grand prix, marking the primary time a Williams automobile has frolicked within the prime three since lap 12 of the 2021 Russian Grand Prix and the primary time in a podium place for Albon for the reason that 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix.
It means after 17 rounds of this season Albon has scored 23 factors (matching his automobile quantity) to Sargeant’s zero. That continues Williams’ latest dependency on a single driver to convey dwelling the factors. The group was in the very same state of affairs in 2022 and 2020 (with George Russell) and 2019 (with Robert Kubica).
Sauber went by the identical in 2017. Probably the most excessive instance below the present factors system (dash races and bonus level for quickest lap however) was Haas’ dependency on Romain Grosjean in 2016. He scored 29 factors (28 factors after the primary 17 rounds) whereas his group mate Esteban Gutierrez contributed none.
A extra drastic instance of this occured in 2009, the 12 months earlier than the worth of a win was boosted from 10 factors to 25 and the points-scoring positions prolonged to attain the highest 10 as an alternative of simply eight. This additionally occured at Williams, the place Nico Rosberg outscored Kazuki Nakajima 34.5 factors to zero.
One other Williams driver went half some extent higher than that below the previous factors system when solely the highest six drivers scored. Ralf Schumacher had 35 factors to his identify in 1999 whereas Alex Zanardi had none.
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Max Verstappen’s victory on Sunday introduced him as much as 433 factors for the season, 92 greater than he had at this level final 12 months, albeit with extra dash races on the scheduled this 12 months. He’s simply 21 factors wanting what he ended the 22-round 2022 marketing campaign with. That equated to 76.17% of the utmost attainable in 2022, whereas he’s scored 91.35% of the out there factors to this point in 2023.
Verstappen achieved his fourth profession ‘grand slam’ in F1 on Sunday, taking victory from pole whereas main each single lap and setting the race’s quickest lap, placing him degree with Jackie Stewart, Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell and Sebastian Vettel. Solely 4 drivers have recorded greater than 4 grand slams.
Eighth and ninth place for Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu meant Alfa Romeo took dwelling their largest factors haul for the reason that 2022 Canadian Grand Prix. They moved up a spot within the championship in consequence.
McLaren’s double podium with Oscar Piastri in second and Lando Norris in third means the group has scored extra factors than some other in every of the final two weekends. Their 80-point tally from Japan and Qatar has come from successive two-three finishes in grands prix and a one-three end headed by Piastri within the Qatar dash race.
Following up on a second place in Singapore, it marks the primary time McLaren has made the rostrum in three successive grands prix for the reason that begin of 2012.
Norris now has 11 grand prix podiums with no win. Solely Nick Heidfeld and Stefan Johansson have introduced dwelling extra trophies with out changing into F1 victors.
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Piastri in the meantime achieved the weird feat of changing into an F1 race-winner with out doing so in a points-scoring grand prix throughout the world championship. Russell was briefly in an analogous place final 12 months as he grew to become a dash race winner the day earlier than successful the Brazilian Grand Prix. Earlier than that, the latest lasting instance of a driver who gained an F1 race however by no means did so in a world championship grands prix was Tom Pryce, who gained the 1975 Race of Champions at Manufacturers Hatch. Earlier than him, there have been many different drivers who gained non-championship F1 races however not world championship grands prix.
Piastri’s first two grand prix podiums on the planet championship have are available in back-to-back races. He’s the twenty eighth driver to realize that and the eighth to take action as a rookie.
The final driver to handle it was his fellow Australian Daniel Ricciardo in 2014, after his first podium end within the Australian Grand Prix was taken away by a disqualification. However solely Lewis Hamilton (who took a document 9 podiums in a row), Jackie Stewart and Clay Regazzoni have managed it as a rookie.
One other quirk of the dash race format noticed Carlos Sainz Jnr lengthen his run of consecutive factors scores to 14 occasions regardless of not beginning Sunday’s grand prix. He took three factors for sixth place within the dash race the day earlier than. Solely champion Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton (who additionally didn’t rating within the grand prix) can boast longer runs.
Additional down the order in Qatar, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon claimed his joint-best end result since his Monaco Grand Prix podium by ending seventh, and Russell’s fourth place introduced him as much as 132 factors for the season whereas nonetheless mendacity down in eighth within the standings. No driver has ever scored that many factors after 17 rounds and been in such a low place within the championship.
Within the Aston Martin storage there was as soon as once more break up qualifying fortunes, as Fernando Alonso stored his season-long run of Q3 appearances going whereas group mate Lance Stroll suffered a fourth straight Q1 elimination.
It was additionally the third time that Crimson Bull’s drivers have been at reverse ends of the beginning order for a grand prix in 2023, as Verstappen lined up on pole whereas Sergio Perez needed to begin from the pit lane. That was a repeat of what occurred on the Australian Grand Prix, whereas Perez began final on the grid for the Monaco Grand Prix.
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