2023 F1 Qatar Friday analysis by Peter Windsor
1,782This Friday in Qatar was not about great corners - or even about a great car being maximised around great corners. Thanks to the vagaries of new Tarmac, high ambients, gusty winds and swirling sand it was about a tetchy, irascible track surface displaying a grip level that changed even during a lap. In this video Peter Windsor explains how Max Verstappen quickly adapted to these very different characteristics, left margin where he needed to but capitalised where it was more straightforward on the qualities of the Championship-winning Red Bull RB19-RBPT Honda. He thus starts on the pole for Sunday's Grand Prix. McLaren-Mercedes' Lando Norris should have qualified second but, underlining the ever-changing levels of grip, exceeded Qatar's track limits on both his runs in Q3. The factory Mercedes thus start second and third, with George Russell leading Lewis Hamilton, ahead of Aston's Fernando Alonso, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and McLaren-Mercedes' brilliant rookie, Oscar Piastri.
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Images: Pirelli, AMG Mercedes, Red Bull, Alfa Romeo, McLaren, Aston Martin and Alpine
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