2023 Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix highlights

Scuderia Ferrari

Scuderia Ferrari leaves Qatar with ten points, courtesy of a fifth place for Charles Leclerc in a race which was very much a case of damage limitation, given that Leclerc’s was the only Ferrari after a fuel system problem on Carlos Sainz’s 55 car meant he was unable to line up on the grid.

The team heads home to Italy tomorrow to start preparations for a particularly busy time in the Americas with a triple-header consisting of three consecutive Sundays in Austin, Mexico City and Sao Paulo.

Carlos Sainz #55

We are disappointed as today was a lost opportunity. We all know motorsport can be cruel at times, and today I got a taste of the worst of it. It’s a pity because I think I could have run a good race today and scored some important points for the Constructors’ Championship.

As in every situation, there’s always something to learn for the future. Now it’s time to focus on the last five races of the year.

Charles Leclerc #16

We maximized our potential today. It was a case of damage limitation, with Carlos already out just before the start. In the race, we had to give ourselves a bit of a margin with the way I was driving and bring it home safely. We expected McLaren to be strong, but not as strong as what we saw this weekend. Mercedes also had a strong pace, and I think that George (Russell) wasn’t pushing as hard as he could.

Physically, it was the toughest race of my career. That was due to a number of things: very high temperatures, three stops – which meant putting in qualifying laps in every lap of the race – and, as a result, much more stress in the high-speed corners.

Next up is the triple header, and we will do everything to finish the season on a high, especially in our battle in the Constructors’ Championship.

Frédéric Vasseur, Team Principal

We can’t be satisfied with how things went this weekend because we lost points to our closest rival, and we were unable to get Carlos to the grid because of a reliability problem.

However, I think we did the most we could today with Charles. In extreme conditions, he drove very well, and the mechanics delivered three excellent pit stops. Maybe in the middle stint, we were slowed a bit by traffic, but anyway, it would not have been easy to keep George Russell behind us today. It was a chaotic weekend, held in very tough conditions with several unexpected factors, starting with the problems linked to the kerbs, which might have actually had something to do with the failure of Carlos’ SF-23. We go home with 10 points from Charles’ fifth place and will start preparing for the triple-header in the Americas, which looks like it will be very tough.

Scuderia Ferrari best pictures:

2023 Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix

1 – GP QATAR F1/2023 – GIOVEDI’ 05/10/2023 – credit: @Scuderia Ferrari Press Office

1 – GP QATAR F1/2023 – GIOVEDI’ 05/10/2023 – credit: @Scuderia Ferrari Press Office

FERRARI F1 GP QATAR VENERDI 06/10/2023 credit @Scuderia Ferrari Press Office

FERRARI F1 GP QATAR VENERDI 06/10/2023 credit @Scuderia Ferrari Press Office

4 – GP QATAR F1/2023 – DOMENICA 08/10/2023 – credit: @Scuderia Ferrari Press Office

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