2023 Formula One World Championship

2023 Formula One World Championship
The 2023 FIA Formula One World Championship is a motor racing championship for Formula One cars, which is the 74th running of the Formula One World Championship. It is recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the governing body of international motorsport, as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. The championship is contested over twenty-two held around the world. It began in March and will end in November.
Drivers and teams compete for the titles of World Drivers' Champion and World Constructors' Champion, respectively. Max Verstappen won his third consecutive Drivers' Champion title at the Qatar Grand Prix, while his team, Red Bull Racing achieved their sixth Constructors' Champions title, the second consecutively, at the preceding Japanese Grand Prix.
Entries
The following constructors and drivers are under contract to compete in the 2023 World Championship. All teams compete with tyres supplied by Pirelli. Each team is required to enter at least two drivers, one for each of the two mandatory cars.
Free practice drivers
Across the season, each team must field a driver in a free practice session who has not raced in more than two Grands Prix, on two occasions, once in each car. The appearances of Oscar Piastri, Logan Sargeant and Nyck de Vries for their debuts at the Bahrain Grand Prix each counted as one of the mandatory sessions for McLaren-Mercedes, Williams-Mercedes and AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT, respectively. Liam Lawson's debut at the Dutch Grand Prix did not count, as Nyck de Vries had already taken the mandatory free practice slot for that car.
Team changes
Honda returned as a named engine supplier to Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri, with both teams' engines badged as Honda RBPT. While Red Bull Powertrains had planned to take over assembly and maintenance of the engines from this season onward, it was later agreed that Honda would continue its technical support of Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri until the end of 2025.
Driver changes
Sebastian Vettel retired at the end of the 2022 championship, ending his Formula One career after 16 seasons. His place at Aston Martin was taken by Fernando Alonso, who left Alpine after two seasons. His replacement was initially announced as the 2021 Formula 2 Champion and reserve driver, Oscar Piastri. Shortly after the announcement, Piastri stated that he had not signed a contract for 2023 and that he would not be driving for Alpine. The FIA Contract Recognition Board ruled that he did not have any contractual obligations to race for Alpine. Pierre Gasly, who had a contract to drive for AlphaTauri, moved to Alpine, replacing Alonso. Gasly was replaced by the 2020–21 Formula E and 2019 Formula 2 Champion Nyck de Vries.
Daniel Ricciardo left McLaren after two seasons. Although he had a contract to drive for the team in 2023, it was terminated during the 2022 championship by mutual agreement. Ricciardo's seat was filled by Piastri, who made his Formula One debut. Nicholas Latifi left Williams after spending three seasons with the team. His seat was filled by Logan Sargeant, who made his Formula One debut by graduating from Formula 2 and became the first American Formula One driver to compete since Alexander Rossi in with former team Marussia and the first to compete full-time since Scott Speed in with former team Toro Rosso. Mick Schumacher left Haas after two seasons. His seat was taken by Nico Hülkenberg, who last competed in Formula One as a full-time race driver in with former team Renault.
Mid-season changes
Nyck de Vries was relieved of his driving duties for AlphaTauri after underperforming in the first ten races of his rookie season. His seat was filled by Daniel Ricciardo starting from the Hungarian Grand Prix. Ricciardo had raced with the team, which at the time was called Toro Rosso, in the and seasons. However, during the Dutch Grand Prix, only his third race of the season, Ricciardo broke a metacarpal bone in his left hand in a crash during the second practice session. As a result, Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri's reserve driver Liam Lawson made his Formula One debut at the race. Lawson continued to substitute in for Ricciardo at the Italian, Singapore, Japanese and Qatar Grands Prix. Ricciardo returned for the United States Grand Prix.
Lance Stroll was entered into the Singapore Grand Prix, but withdrew following a crash in qualifying.
Calendar
The 2023 calendar comprises twenty-two Grands Prix. The Azerbaijan, Austrian, Belgian, Qatar, United States and São Paulo Grands Prix feature the sprint format.
Calendar expansion and changes
The Qatar Grand Prix returned to the calendar, after last being held in . The Grand Prix was initially planned to be moved to a new purpose-built circuit, but was instead retained at Lusail International Circuit, similarly to the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, which was kept at Jeddah Corniche Circuit. The Las Vegas Grand Prix is due to make its debut, with the race planned to be held in November on a new street track across the Las Vegas Strip. The last Grand Prix held in Las Vegas was the 1982 Caesars Palace Grand Prix. Three races are scheduled to be held in the United States in the same season for the first time since .
The Russian Grand Prix was under contract to feature on the 2023 calendar. It was originally meant to switch its venue from the Sochi Autodrom to Igora Drive, in Novozhilovo, located about from Saint Petersburg. However, the contract was terminated in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The French Grand Prix did not feature on the 2023 calendar although the promoters of the Grand Prix stated that they would aim for a rotational race deal by sharing its slot with other Grands Prix. The Chinese Grand Prix was initially due to be part of the calendar after last being held in , but it was cancelled for the fourth consecutive year due to the ongoing difficulties presented by the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. It was not replaced. The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, which was scheduled to take place on 21 May as the sixth round of the championship, was cancelled on 17 May due to flooding in the area.
Regulation changes
Technical regulations
Reducing porpoising
Following large amounts of porpoising during , the FIA introduced changes to the regulations to limit excessive porpoising. Floor edges were to be raised by and the throat of the diffuser were also to be raised by . The diffuser edge stiffness was increased and an additional sensor was mandated to monitor the porpoising phenomenon more effectively. Lateral floor deflection tests also became more stringent.
Roll hoop design
Following Zhou Guanyu's crash at the 2022 British Grand Prix, a rounded top is now required on the roll hoop, which reduces the chance of it digging into the ground during an accident. Additionally, a change was made to ensure a minimum height for the point of application of the homologation test, and a new physical homologation test was introduced where the load pushes the roll hoop in the forward direction, in addition to the pre-existing tests in three other directions.
Mirror size
The size of the side-mirrors was increased from to in an effort to improve rear visibility.
Weight and fuel temperature
The allowed weight of cars was set to be decreased from to . However, this plan was abandoned, mainly due to the introduction of heavier Pirelli tyres. The allowed weight of power units was increased from to . The minimum fuel temperature has been changed to , down from in 2022, or below ambient temperature when cars are operating outside designated garage areas.
Slot gap separators on front wing
The FIA initially altered the wording of the aerodynamic regulations after Mercedes produced a front wing that exploited a potential loop-hole in the regulations. Mercedes introduced slot gap separators on their front wings at the 2022 United States Grand Prix, although they did not intend to run them at the event. Rival teams argued that the new front wing was illegal. Mercedes argued that the regulations allowed slot-gap separators as they were "primarily" there for "mechanical, structural or measurement reasons", and therefore any secondary aerodynamic benefit would be allowed. The FIA ruled that the brackets were illegal at the following 2022 Mexico City Grand Prix. The wording of the regulation was altered so that the slot gap separator brackets must perform a structural role, and the sentence explaining that the primary purpose can not be aerodynamic has been removed. This rule change was intended to outlaw slot gap separators. It had the opposite effect, legalising slot gap separators which provide structural support; what aerodynamic benefit they provide no longer bears on their legality. Ferrari launched their car, the SF-23 with the slot gap separators.
Sporting regulations
With the intention of making tyre usage more sustainable in the future, Formula One trialed a reduction in allocated tyre sets from 13 to 11 at the Hungarian and Italian Grands Prix. It was due to be trialed at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix before its cancellation. During qualifying for these races, teams were required to use hard tyres in Q1, mediums in Q2 and softs in Q3. Teams are usually free to choose the tyre compound that they run during qualifying.
Pirelli announced a change to the available tyre compounds for 2023, as a new compound was inserted between the old C1 and C2 compounds. This change provides teams with more flexible strategy options after criticism towards the original C1 compound for a large drop in grip compared to the other tyres. Additionally, following criticism over the raceability of its full wet tyre in previous seasons, Pirelli has produced a new full wet tyre in the hope of reducing the need for safety car and red flags in wet race conditions. The new full wet tyre debuted at the Monaco Grand Prix. The sport will also aim to trial wet weather-specific bodywork designed to improve visibility and reduce spray during 2023 with the aim of fully introducing it by the start of the 2024 championship at latest.
There were only three days of pre-season testing, a reduction from 2022 when there were six days. During the F1 Commission held in February 2023 it was decided to relax the restrictions on team radio communications.
Sprint events
The sprint format is slated to be run at six Grands Prix in 2023, compared to three in and . During sprint weekends, teams are given a broader choice of parts that they are permitted to change under parc fermé conditions.
A new weekend format for sprint events (as compared to that used in 2021 and 2022) consists of a single practice session on Friday, followed by the qualifying session which determines the grid for the Sunday's Grand Prix. On Saturday, a new qualifying session called "sprint shootout", in place of the old second practice session, is run, determining the grid for the sprint. The Grand Prix takes place on Sunday. The new sprint shootout qualifying is run shorter than the traditional qualifying: SQ1 is 12 minutes, SQ2 is 10 minutes, and SQ3 is 8 minutes long. New tyres were mandatory for each phase, with a single set of mediums for each of SQ1 and SQ2, and a single set of softs for SQ3.
The tyre rules for sprint shootout were modified for the second sprint weekend of the season at the Austrian Grand Prix, enabling drivers and teams who made it through to SQ3 (the third segment of the sprint shootout) to use any set of soft tyres, whereas they were previously required to use a new set of soft tyres. The change was made after Lando Norris could not run in SQ3 at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix due to exhausting his allocation of soft tyres.
Points awarded for shortened races
The 2022 sporting regulations only specified that races ended early by a red flag used a points system that gradually increased points awarded based on the completed race distance. This caused confusion at the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix, where full points were awarded despite less than 75% of the scheduled distance being completed, as the race ended under green flag conditions. The wording of the regulation has now been amended: all races where less than 75% of the race distance is completed will use the sliding scale system to determine the points awarded, regardless of whether they finish under red or green flag conditions. This rule change satisfied the original intention of the gradual scale points system when it was introduced in 2022.
Restrictions on political gestures
The FIA's International Sporting Code (ISC) was updated to include stricter controls on drivers and teams making "political, religious and personal statements". Article 12.2.1n was introduced stating that drivers and teams must receive the FIA's permission before conducting a political statement or protest and that any protest without permission would be considered a breach of the FIA's neutrality rules. The FIA stated the update to the ISC was done to move it in line with the ethical principles of political neutrality laid out by the International Olympic Committee, which gave formal recognition to the FIA in 2013 through the Olympic Charter. FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem stated that the rule change was made to ensure that the FIA's platform was not used to help fulfil drivers' "private personal agenda".
Following concerns from drivers and teams on how these rules would affect freedom of expression and the ability of drivers and their teams to express views about what they believe to be a worthwhile cause, the FIA clarified in February 2023 that drivers would be prohibited on making political or religious statement on the following: politically sensitive persons living or dead, military or political conflicts, separatist movements, national governments, any statements referencing a key religious figure or any statement that could be deemed offensive to the religious beliefs of the hosting country. Stewards at each Grand Prix meeting will be required to adjudge whether a driver has breached FIA neutrality rules on a case-by-case basis. Drivers remain free to share their opinions regarding political or religious topics without facing potential sanctions on their personal social media platforms, in an official FIA press conference providing it is in response to a media question or outside of a race weekend. Any driver looking for a special exemption from the FIA to make a statement that may contravene the neutrality rules must notify the FIA four weeks in advance of an event.
Relaxation of COVID-19 protocols
The FIA took further steps to relax COVID-19 safety protocols that were first introduced in . This relaxation of restrictions included the removal of the need for proof of vaccination for those working in the paddock. The FIA previously dropped the requirements for mandatory face masking and COVID-testing in .
Financial regulations
The budget cap has been reduced to . It was originally set at in before being increased to to account for inflation. It was initially agreed by the F1 Commission to increase the cost cap by to account for additional costs caused by the increased number of races. The commission subsequently agreed to adjust to the level of future cost cap increases to per race when a calendar is over twenty-one races to account for the greater costs of flyaway races compared to European races. Teams have also agreed to give the FIA easier access to factories when cost cap audits are being carried out in order to more easily ensure that teams adhere to the cost cap. A winter shutdown of factories was introduced alongside the existing summer shutdown.
Technical directive – "special project" divisions
Teams such as Mercedes, Red Bull Racing, and Aston Martin operate "applied technology" divisions which design for and consult on projects outside of Formula One. Since these projects are not related to the teams' Formula One operations, their expenditure falls outside of the cost cap regulations. Between the Canadian and Austrian Grands Prix, the FIA introduced a technical directive that prevents teams from transferring intellectual property from their "special project" divisions to their Formula One operations cost-free, closing a loophole.
Season summary
Pre-season
There was one pre-season test, at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir on 23–25 February. Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll missed the test after suffering a "minor" cycling accident during training. He was replaced by reserve driver Felipe Drugovich.
Opening rounds
Red Bull Racing locked out the front row for the season opening Bahrain Grand Prix, with the two Ferraris on the second row. The much-improved Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso started in fifth. Max Verstappen led nearly all the race comfortably, winning by eleven seconds ahead of his teammate Sergio Pérez. Charles Leclerc retired with a mechanical failure from third, with Alonso taking this spot, after a late race overtake on Carlos Sainz Jr.. Lewis Hamilton finished fifth. Lance Stroll, still racing with a broken wrist and toe, finished sixth, ahead of the Mercedes of George Russell.
In the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Pérez took pole position in qualifying. Pérez dropped to second position in the first lap to Alonso, but regained first on lap four. Verstappen, starting fifteenth on the grid, reached second by lap 25, and remained there for the rest of the race. Verstappen also recorded the fastest lap. Alonso rounded out the podium finishing third, with the Mercedes duo of Russell and Hamilton finishing in fourth and fifth respectively.
At the Australian Grand Prix, Verstappen took pole position in qualifying with Pérez starting from the pit lane. At the start of the race, Verstappen was overtaken by Russell and Hamilton. He regained the lead by lap 12 and led the race comfortably, as Russell retired on lap 18 due to a mechanical issue. Verstappen won the race, followed by Hamilton and then Alonso, with Pérez clocking the fastest lap. The Grand Prix broke the record for most red flags, with three.
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix saw the season's first sprint event. Leclerc secured pole position ahead of Verstappen and Pérez. Additionally, Leclerc managed to secure pole position for the sprint ahead of Pérez and Verstappen, despite locking up and crashing out in turn 5 on his last lap. Sprint polesitter Leclerc got a good start off the line to take the lead of the sprint until Pérez had the opportunity to pass Leclerc on the main straight courtesy of the DRS; he kept the lead until the end of the sprint. Verstappen finished in third; Russell fourth. In the race, polesitter Leclerc led the race until lap four. The DRS was enabled on lap three, with Verstappen utilising it to pass Leclerc into the first corner on the following lap. Pérez repeated the same move on lap six to take second place. As lap ten concluded, Verstappen went into the pit lane to switch tyres and lost the effective lead of the race, as the safety car came out. Pérez, Verstappen and Leclerc were the top three drivers for the rest of the race as Pérez took his second Azerbaijan Grand Prix victory. This was Leclerc and Ferrari's first podium finish of the season.
At the Miami Grand Prix, Pérez secured pole position ahead of Alonso and Sainz; Verstappen started ninth after he was unable to set a time, compounded by Leclerc crashing out during the final stages of Q3 and bringing out a red flag. Magnussen was able to secure fourth position ahead of the race. Verstappen made up several positions during the race and secured his second Miami Grand Prix victory ahead of Pérez and Alonso.
Verstappen secured pole position at the Monaco Grand Prix, ahead of Alonso, Leclerc and Alpine's Esteban Ocon who were all on provisional pole at some point during Q3. Leclerc was penalised with a three-place grid penalty after impeding McLaren's Lando Norris in qualifying. Perez crashed in Q1, and subsequently started 20th. The race was dry to start with but rain soon arrived leading to the first runners to switch to the intermediate tyres on lap 51. Verstappen secured his second Monaco Grand Prix victory, with Alonso finishing second, his best result of the season. Ocon scored his first podium since winning the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix.
Verstappen secured pole position once again at the Spanish Grand Prix, ahead of Sainz and Norris. Leclerc struggled in qualifying, only managing to qualify 19th, and started from the pit lane after the team elected to make changes to his set-up. Pérez also struggled in qualifying, qualifying 11th. Verstappen cruised to a fifth victory of the season. He led every lap and took the fastest lap of the race. Hamilton finished second ahead of teammate Russell in third, who took his first podium of the season, despite starting 12th. The double podium for the team moved Mercedes to second above Aston Martin.
Mid-season rounds
At the Canadian Grand Prix, Verstappen continued to dominate, securing pole position in rainy conditions ahead of the Haas of Nico Hülkenberg – Haas's second-highest qualifying position following Magnussen's pole position at the 2022 São Paulo Grand Prix; Hülkenberg was demoted to fifth following a penalty. Alonso achieved third; Verstappen's teammate Pérez continued to struggle during qualification, getting knocked out of Q2 in twelfth position. Verstappen went on to win Red Bull Racing's 100th victory in Formula One ahead of Alonso and Hamilton. Verstappen's 41st victory moved him to joint 5th on the all-time list, tied with Ayrton Senna.
Verstappen also took pole at the Austrian Grand Prix, both for Sunday's Grand Prix and for Saturday's sprint. Verstappen fought with teammate Pérez on the opening lap of the sprint race, with Pérez appearing to push Verstappen onto the grass on the run up to turn 3. Verstappen retained the lead though, and led every lap to take victory. In the race, Verstappen led away from Leclerc and Sainz. Leclerc would briefly lead the race after opting to pit under a virtual safety car to recover Nico Hülkenberg's stricken Haas, whilst Verstappen did not. Leclerc became the first driver since Pérez at the Miami Grand Prix to lead a lap other than Verstappen, who quickly passed Leclerc to regain the lead. Verstappen took his fifth consecutive victory ahead of Leclerc, who scored his best finish of the season, and Pérez, who recovered from starting 15th. A number of drivers fell foul of track limits penalties over the weekend, with 47 lap times being deleted in qualifying alone. During the race, the FIA reported that there were "well over 1,200 instances where a car was reported as potentially leaving the track", and a number of drivers including Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz were given time penalties for multiple breaches.
The British Grand Prix saw a remarked improvement from McLaren, as Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri qualified second and third, respectively. Verstappen took his fifth consecutive pole position, whilst Pérez qualified 16th, failing to make it into Q3 for the fifth consecutive race. Norris made the most of a good start and overtook Verstappen into the first corner. Verstappen re-passed Norris on lap 5 and held on to take his sixth consecutive Grand Prix victory, whilst Norris recorded his best finish of the season finishing second. Hamilton made the most of a safety car to recover the Haas of Kevin Magnussen to jump Piastri and finish in third place, his 14th podium at his home race. The race saw Red Bull Racing equal McLaren's record for the most consecutive victories with eleven.
Hamilton took pole position at the Hungarian Grand Prix, his first since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. It marked his ninth pole position in Hungary, a record for most poles at a single circuit. Hamilton lost out at the start to Verstappen, and was passed by the two McLarens. He managed to repass Piastri late in the race and finished fourth. Verstappen won to become the fifth driver to win seven races consecutively. Norris continued McLaren's resurgence, and took second. Pérez finished third, having started ninth. Verstappen's win also meant that Red Bull Racing set a new record for most consecutive victories for a constructor with twelve.
The Belgian Grand Prix saw the return of the sprint format, with Verstappen taking pole position in both the Grand Prix and sprint race. He was given a five-place grid penalty for the Grand Prix for exceeding the allocated number of gearboxes, so Charles Leclerc was promoted to pole. In the sprint, Verstappen took the victory, having had to pass Piastri, who came home second. Alpine's Pierre Gasly came home third. In the race, Pérez took the lead off Leclerc on lap 1. Verstappen took the lead of the race on lap 17, passing Pérez on the Kemmel straight. Verstappen then strolled to his eighth consecutive Grand Prix victory, ahead of teammate Pérez and Leclerc.
At the Dutch Grand Prix, Daniel Ricciardo suffered an accident in the second free practice session while trying to avoid the McLaren of Piastri who had crashed earlier. As a result of the crash, Ricciardo suffered a broken metacarpal bone, which led to him withdrawing from the weekend, being replaced by Red Bull Junior Team driver Liam Lawson. Verstappen took pole for the third year running in Zandvoort, with Norris in second and Russell in third. Rain fell on the first lap, which saw drivers pit for inters in the early stages. As a result of the early change in tyres, Pérez led by lap 5, from the Alfa Romeo of Zhou Guanyu and Gasly. Verstappen undercut Pérez on the change back to dry-weather tyres on lap 13. From there, he kept the lead for the rest of the race. More rain fell in the closing stages, with multiple drivers being caught out by the tricky conditions at turn 1. Pérez went off, glancing the barrier and losing second place to Alonso. Zhou aquaplaned and crashed heavily into the barrier at turn 1, which brought out the red flag. At the restart, Norris and Russell collided, with the latter suffering a puncture. Verstappen led home Alonso, to equal Sebastian Vettel's record of nine consecutive race victories. Gasly took his first podium since the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, after Pérez was given a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane. Lawson finished 13th on debut, ahead of teammate Tsunoda, who was penalised due to a collision with George Russell.
At the Italian Grand Prix, polesitter Carlos Sainz Jr. mounted a successful defense against a charging Max Verstappen for the lead, but he made a mistake on lap 15, allowing Verstappen into the lead. Behind him, his teammate Sergio Pérez was fighting George Russell for fourth place; Pérez won out as Russell dropped to sixth ahead of his teammate Lewis Hamilton. Both Mercedes drivers were suffering from penalties; Russell for an incident involving him and Esteban Ocon and Hamilton for a collision with Oscar Piastri that resulted in damage to the latter's front wing. Excluding pit stop lead changes, Verstappen kept the lead until the end of the race, winning his second consecutive Italian Grand Prix, breaking Sebastian Vettel's record for most consecutive wins with ten, and extending the record of most consecutive wins as a constructor for Red Bull Racing to fifteen. Sainz and Leclerc finished third and fourth, respectively.
Closing rounds
Sainz made it back-to-back pole positions at the Singapore Grand Prix, qualifying ahead of Russell and Leclerc. Red Bull Racing struggled all weekend, with both Verstappen and Pérez lining up eleventh and thirteenth, respectively. This was the first time Red Bull Racing failed to make Q3 since the 2018 Russian Grand Prix. Sainz held the lead at the start, as Leclerc passed Russell at turn 1. A safety car was brought out after Logan Sargeant crashed his Williams, resulting in most of the cars pitting. Leclerc had to be held longer in the pits to allow other cars to pass, seeing him drop to fifth. Sainz would hold off the pressure from both Russell and Norris to take his second Formula One victory. Norris and Hamilton joined him on the podium, as Russell crashed out on the final lap. Sainz became the first non-Red Bull Racing driver to win a Grand Prix since the 2022 São Paulo Grand Prix, to end Verstappen's run of ten consecutive wins since the Miami Grand Prix and Red Bull Racing's streak of fifteen wins since the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Verstappen returned to pole at Suzuka for the Japanese Grand Prix, qualifying ahead of Piastri and Norris. Verstappen cruised to his 13th win of the season, with Norris finishing second, and Piastri scoring his maiden Grand Prix podium. Pérez retired from the race after clashing with both Hamilton and the Haas of Kevin Magnussen, though briefly rejoined the race to serve a five-second time penalty for the clash with Magnussen. Verstappen's win saw Red Bull Racing clinch the World Constructors' Championship for this season, the team's sixth title overall, and the second title in a row.
The Qatar Grand Prix saw an opportunity for Verstappen to win the title by finishing sixth in the sprint. Verstappen took pole position for the race, while Oscar Piastri reigned for the sprint pole. Piastri battled with George Russell, who lost tyre grip and thus subsequently positions by the end of the quick race, and went on to win his first race as McLaren's first sprint victory. Piastri finished ahead of Verstappen and Norris. Meanwhile, Esteban Ocon, Pérez and Nico Hülkenberg were involved in an incident on lap 11 which saw all three retire with collision damage. Charles Leclerc and Lance Stroll fell foul of track limits, and Liam Lawson and Logan Sargeant spun themselves into retirement – leading to three safety car periods. During the sprint, Verstappen, who started third ahead of the McLarens, achieved his third consecutive Drivers' Championship after Pérez's accident. Before the start of the Grand Prix, Carlos Sainz Jr. experienced a fuel leak in his car, not being able to participate in the race. On lap 1, Lewis Hamilton collided with his teammate Russell, forcing him to retire. The race was dominated by Verstappen in extremely hot weather, which caught out numerous drivers, including Logan Sargeant, who chose to retire early, Esteban Ocon, who vomited in his car twice but managed to finish the race in seventh, and Lance Stroll, who stated he briefly passed out and experienced blurry vision. Ultimately, Piastri and Norris rounded off the podium once more, with McLaren setting a new record for the fastest pit stop, clocking in at 1.80 seconds. This beat the previous record set by Red Bull Racing at the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix with 1.82.
The United States Grand Prix marked back-to-back sprint events, with Verstappen qualifying on pole for the sprint and winning comfortably ahead of Hamilton and Leclerc. Meanwhile, Leclerc qualified on pole after Verstappen's time was deleted for track limits, though Norris passed him for the lead on lap one. However, a risky gamble into turn 12 after Oscar Piastri retired due to collisions with Esteban Ocon caught Leclerc off-guard, allowing Verstappen to pass him. Leclerc was left out on older tyres with Verstappen and Hamilton having tyre advantage. In response to Verstappen's hard compound, McLaren had Norris pit for hards, with Verstappen overcoming his brake issues with the help of Zhou Guanyu giving him a DRS assistance straight to the line, achieving his 50th career win, ahead of Hamilton and Norris, who were at this stage closing in on him. However, post-race scrutineering determined that Hamilton and Leclerc's skid blocks were excessively worn, disqualifying them; the resulting place promotions for the drivers below them gave Logan Sargeant his first career point, at his home race.
Results and standings
Grands Prix
Scoring system
Points are awarded to the top ten classified drivers, the driver who sets the fastest lap during the Grand Prix (only if one of the top ten), and the top eight of the sprint. In the case of a tie on points, a countback system is used where the driver with the most Grand Prix wins is ranked higher. If the number of wins is identical, then the number of second places is considered, and so on. Points are awarded using the following system:
World Drivers' Championship standings
World Constructors' Championship standings
Notes
References
External links
Formula One
Formula One seasons
Formula One