With second place in the Qatar Grand Prix sprint race, Max Verstappen clinched the 2023 Formula One drivers’ world championship, making it three in a row and following on from his Red Bull team’s championship which was confirmed in Japan.
Verstappen continued his winning streak in Qatar, making it 14 wins for the season with only five grands prix – and two sprint races – left in the season.
If he were to win another two grands prix in 2023 he would beat his own record for the most grands prix victories in one season, which is his 2022 record of 15.
The next race of the 2023 season is the 2023 United States Grand Prix which takes place at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin. The race weekend runs from Friday October 20 until Sunday October 22 and is the fourth of six sprint weekends in 2023.
First practice: 6.30pm BST
Qualifying: 10pm
Sprint shootout/qualifying: 6.30pm
Sprint race: 11pm
United States Grand Prix: 8pm
There will be 22 races on the calendar this year, which started in Bahrain on March 5 and culminating with the season finale in Abu Dhabi on November 26.
The brand new Las Vegas Grand Prix will be the penultimate race of the season, a week before Abu Dhabi.
Formula One has announced the six sprint venues for 2023 with Azerbaijan, Belgium, the Austin race in the United States and Qatar all joining Austria and Brazil.
The format, however, has been changed for this year, with the sprint becoming almost a standalone event (albeit with championship points) on the Saturday.
Previously there had been qualifying on Friday to set the sprint grid for Saturday, with the sprint race result then setting the grid for Sunday.
In 2023, however, Friday’s qualifying sets the grid for Sunday’s grand prix whilst an extra sprint shootout (in effect a shortened three-part, elimination qualifying session) sets the grid for the sprint. Both take place on Saturday.
The top eight drivers in the sprint race score points from eight to the winner and one for the eighth-placed driver. Again, the sprint races will be approximately 100km – or roughly a third of a grand prix distance.
Max Verstappen (1) and Sergio Pérez (11)
Lewis Hamilton (44) and George Russell (63)
Carlos Sainz (55) and Charles Leclerc (55)
Esteban Ocon (31) and Pierre Gasly (10)
Lando Norris (4) and Oscar Piastri (81)
Valtteri Bottas (77) and Guanyu Zhou (24)
Lance Stroll (18) and Fernando Alonso (14)
Kevin Magnussen (20) and Nico Hulkenberg (27)
Yuki Tsunoda (22), Nyck de Vries (21), Daniel Ricciardo (3) and Liam Lawson (40)
Alexander Albon (23) and Logan Sargeant (2)
5: Bahrain Grand Prix, Sakhir
19: Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Jeddah
2: Australian Grand Prix, Melbourne
30: Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Baku +
7: Miami Grand Prix, Miami21: Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Imola
28: Monaco Grand Prix, Monte Carlo
4: Spanish Grand Prix, Barcelona
18: Canadian Grand Prix, Montreal
2: Austrian Grand Prix, Spielberg +
9: British Grand Prix, Silverstone
23: Hungarian Grand Prix, Budapest
30: Belgian Grand Prix, Spa-Francorchamps +
27: Dutch Grand Prix, Zandvoort
3: Italian Grand Prix, Monza
17: Singapore Grand Prix, Singapore
24: Japanese Grand Prix, Suzuka
8: Qatar Grand Prix, Losail +
22: United States Grand Prix, Austin +
29: Mexico City Grand Prix, Mexico City
5: Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Sao Paulo +
18: Las Vegas Grand Prix, Las Vegas
26: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Yas Marina
+ Denotes sprint event weekend