There are only 58 laps left until the 2023 season ends, and the person in charge of giving the starting signal will be Max Verstappen. The three-time world champion took the last pole of the season, after easily overtaking Charles Leclerc, the McLarens and George Russell who aspires to be the best Mercedes of the race. And Hamilton was one of the negative protagonists of the classification, after failing to advance to Q3 for the second consecutive race.
The one who didn’t make it either was Carlos Sainz, who not only didn’t make it to Q3 but also to Q2. For the first time (and only now) in 2023, the Madrid native was eliminated at the first opportunity. He will start from a poor 16th position, which is very much in favor of Fernando Alonso who, starting 7th on the grid, will have the objective of finishing 5th in the World Championship, as is his goal.
From the first moment it was seen that one of the big doubts was going to be whether to do a single good lap or try two, even if this meant using a new set of tires. Added to that was that many drivers had their times invalidated for exceeding the track limit and others benefited from the slipstream games of other cars. All this on a track that, in the final moments, was at its optimal point.
Based on these ingredients, a very close classification was cooked up, to the point that in the first attempts several drivers unexpectedly found it difficult to advance to the next round. One of them was, for example, Fernando Alonso, but also Lewis Hamilton who in the final moments found himself in elimination time. Although the Asturian passed, Carlos Sainz did not.
The Madrid native, for the first time this year, did not go beyond Q1. Although a Mercedes hindered him, the extreme equality between everyone also played against him: between the best time, by Verstappen, and the last, by Zhou, there were exactly 999 thousandths. That is no excuse for Sainz, with a Ferrari, not to cross the first cut. Along with him fell the most common in these fights: Magnussen, Bottas, Zhou and Sargeant.
Hamilton, K.O.
After what happened in Q1, Sainz’s was not the only surprise. And, as happened before, traffic management was critical. On this occasion Fernando Alonso did not have to suffer so much to advance to the last Q3 of the year, but not so for Lewis Hamilton who was knocked out of the classification zone for the last round by his own teammate, George Russell.
With Verstappen assuming his role as great leader, Lando Norris’ second position indicated that he could be one of his main enemies for pole, although as it turned out there were more contenders. The mere 8 hundredths that ostracized Hamilton from 11th place on the grid guarantees, at least, a spectacle for the first laps of the race. Along with the seven-time champion, Ocon, Stroll, Albon and Ricciardo fell. Little surprise here.
There were no initial shocks in Q3 either. Verstappen was the fastest on the first attempt with the McLarens behind him, Russel 4th and Pérez failing on a line that almost sent him into the wall. It wasn’t even surprising that Alonso settled for an 8th starting time. If anything, something that was not expected was to see Leclerc, a regular in the fights for pole, who did not go beyond 9th time in the first attempt.
As always, it was on the second attempt where everything was decided. Verstappen didn’t even improve in this one, but others did, such as Charles Leclerc, who was just over a tenth away from getting another pole that he could have wasted. Starting 2nd, perhaps he is closer to a hypothetical victory, if the Dutch cannibal leaves him something. The dispute for the podium is going to be vibrant, with Óscar Piastri 3rd and George Russell 4th.
As for Fernando Alonso, his fight to finish 5th constitutionally in one of his best seasons in recent years is reasonably facing him. The tie he has with Sainz of 200 points is in his face with the Madrid native starting from the end of the grid, but with Lando Norris, who starts 5th, he will have to fight for the copper. The McLaren driver would need to beat him by more than the two places he will have on the grid, but Alonso’s 7th place to start is more than optimistic for his goals in the race that will close the season.
#Verstappen #finishing #touch #historic #season