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The 2023 F1 Qatar GP sprint saw Oscar Piastri win his first-ever sprint. While the result is certainly not as big as winning a race, the young Australian will take it. To add to this, Max Verstappen secured his third world title with a P2 finish in the sprint with Lando Norris coming home in third.
The 2023 F1 Qatar GP sprint was an eventful one with as many as three safety car periods. Having said that, what did we learn? Let's take a look.
2023 F1 Qatar GP sprint: Top 5 key takeaways
#1 A star is born at the 2023 F1 Qatar GP
Oscar Piastri as an F1 talent is not something similar to Max Verstappen. He's not someone who would bounce out of the screen and be right in your face from the very beginning. He's a bit different in the manner with which he goes about his business. He keeps a calm head, he works at finding the sweet spot and when he finds it, it's just beautiful.
With this win in the sprint, a star is born at McLaren. This will be just the first of many because this kid is just getting started.
#2 An F1 legend is solidifying his legacy
Is it safe to call Max Verstappen an F1 legend now? At 26 years of age, he's still a child if you look at the fact that Fernando Alonso is still going strong in his 40s. The 2023 F1 season has redefined dominance in the sport. Max just does not have off weekends and that is what is making him this record-breaking juggernaut.
He's the second youngest driver after Sebastian Vettel to reach 3 world titles and with the way his career is going, the legacy is just starting to take shape at the moment.
#3 Charles Leclerc being too nice is starting to hurt him
Is Charles Leclerc too nice to be a true elite? That is the question that seems to be doing the rounds after the 2023 F1 Qatar GP sprint and that is the question that Leclerc needs to ask himself right now. It's not a good thing for Charles to be pushed off the track by his teammate at the start of the sprint.
It's also not a good thing for Charles to be blocked by his teammate as Lewis Hamilton jumps him. Charles played the team game in Singapore and got a poor result for himself. One can see that Sainz, or any top driver for that matter, will not be willing to put themselves in that situation.
Charles might need to stop being too nice at Ferrari because as they say, "Nice guys finish last".
#4 F1 needs to rethink about racing on this circuit
The track for the 2023 F1 Qatar GP is not a track perfectly suited for four-wheel racing. Yes, it was chaotic, yes there was action, and yes it was a fun sprint but there are some things one can't turn a blind eye towards.
The track is going to eat up the tires in the Grand Prix on Sunday, it's too harsh for tires with the kind of kerbs in place and the lack of grip is throwing drivers off in a manner that is not often seen.
As the icing on the cake, the number of track limit penalties that are going to feature tomorrow is just another ridiculousness over and above the others that are already there. A track can't have these many issues at once and F1 needs to take a long hard look at the long-term future of this race.
#5 Lando Norris needs to watch his back now
The 2023 F1 Qatar GP race weekend has not been the best for Lando. He's got a podium and that is all well and good but there is one major issue, he's making far too many mistakes. Mistakes that his younger and less experienced teammate isn't.
Lando came to the 2023 F1 Qatar GP on the back of 4 P2 finishes. His teammate has gone ahead and secured a pole position and a win in the sprint, something that he's yet to do ever since Lando fully blossomed into a frontrunner in 2021. This is the biggest challenge he will face, it will be interesting to see how he handles it.
