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Max Verstappen has been tipped to lose at the 2023 F1 Qatar GP by F1 pundit Tom Clarkson who feels the Dutchman might suffer from a slip-up. The track in Qatar tends to have very aggressive kerbs. These kinds of kerbs proved to be a menace in 2021, the last time F1 raced here as it led to a lot of punctures.
With the track holding a lot of resemblance with Suzuka in terms of demands and car characteristics that could excel here, Clarkson believes Max Verstappen could possibly be challenged by the McLaren duo in Qatar. In a surprising prediction, Clarkson said that maybe this time around, bad luck will strike the Red Bull driver, causing the chasing pack to pick up the pieces.
The F1 expert picked Lando Norris as the winner of the race, with Oscar Piastri coming home in second ahead of Sergio Perez. On the F1 Nation podcast, he said:
“I think Max is going to win the sprint and he’s going to win the championship at the same time. I feel that Lando Norris is due his first win in Formula 1. And if that car is as good as we think it’s going to be, a little bit of misfortune maybe?
"Remember, we had those four punctures two years ago, just a little bit of misfortune for Max and Norris is in there. So I’m going to go a Norris victory this weekend."
He added:
“Closely pursued by his team-mate Oscar Piastri and then I think Checo Perez is going to have dusted himself down after Singapore and Japan, and he’s going to put in a solid performance and he’s going to be on the third step of the podium on Sunday.
"So it’s Norris, Piastri and Perez, only because some kind of misfortune has fallen in the way of Max Verstappen.”
Max Verstappen on the verge of sealing his third world title
Max Verstappen is on the verge of sealing his third world title this weekend. The Red Bull driver is already close to 200 points ahead of Sergio Perez (400 to 223) in P2. The driver has been dominant in all aspects this season and will be looking to seal the deal this weekend.
The 2023 F1 season has been a dominant one for Verstappen. He already has 13 wins this season, only two away from matching his record of 15 wins in a season. If he secures a pole position in all of the last six races, he would be able to match Sebastian Vettel's record of most poles in a season as well.
