2023 Spanish Grand Prix
Race 7 of 22 in the 2023 Formula One World Championship
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Layout of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain
Layout of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain
Race details[1]
Date 4 June 2023
Official name Formula 1 AWS Gran Premio de España 2023
Location Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló, Spain
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 4.657 km (2.894 miles)
Distance 66 laps, 307.236 km (190.908 miles)
Weather Cloudy
Attendance 284,066[2]
Pole position
Driver
Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT
Time 1:12.272
Fastest lap
Driver Netherlands Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT
Time 1:16.330 on lap 61 (lap record)
Podium
First
Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT
Second
Mercedes
Third
Mercedes
Lap leaders

The 2023 Spanish Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 AWS Gran Premio de España 2023) was a Formula One motor race that was held on 4 June 2023 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Montmeló, Spain. It was the seventh round of the 2023 Formula One World Championship.

After taking pole position, Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing led every lap, took the fastest lap, and won the race ahead of Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell in second and third respectively, marking Verstappen's third career grand chelem.

Background

The event was held across the weekend of 2–4 June 2023.[1] It was the seventh round of the 2023 Formula One World Championship.

Following the upgrade package to the Mercedes W14 introduced in the previous round, the Monaco Grand Prix, further upgrades improving the car's airflow were introduced to this event. Ferrari revealed an upgrade package for their SF-23, switching from an in-wash solution to a down-wash, similar to Red Bull Racing's RB19. It received a minor upgrade to its floor and diffuser.[3]

Championship standings before the race

Max Verstappen was the Drivers' Championship leader after the sixth round, the Monaco Grand Prix, with 144 points, 39 ahead of Sergio Pérez in second, with Fernando Alonso in third, 12 points behind Pérez. In the Constructors' Championship, Red Bull Racing led Aston Martin by 129 points and Mercedes by 130.[4]

Entrants

The drivers and teams were the same as the season entry list with no additional stand-in drivers for the race.[5]

Tyre choices

Tyre supplier Pirelli brought the C1, C2, and C3 tyre compounds (designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively) for teams to use at the event. For this Grand Prix, drivers could run in the first two practice sessions two sets of new hard tyre that would be introduced for the British Grand Prix.[6]

Track changes

From this edition, Formula One would use the layout used by MotoGP since 2021, removing the chicane in the last sector of the lap that Formula One had used every year since it was introduced in 2007, and reverting the final corners for Formula One cars to a sweeping fast configuration that Formula One last used in 2006.[7]

Practice

Three free practice sessions were held for the event. The first free practice session was held on 2 June 2023, at 13:30 local time (UTC+2). Max Verstappen topped the session ahead of Sergio Pérez and Esteban Ocon.[8][9]

The second free practice session was held on 2 June 2023, at 17:00 local time (UTC+2). Verstappen topped the session ahead of Fernando Alonso and Nico Hulkenberg.[10][9]

The third free practice session was held on 3 June 2023, at 12:30 local time (UTC+2). Verstappen again topped the session ahead of Sergio Pérez and Lewis Hamilton.[11][9]

Qualifying

Qualifying was held on 3 June 2023, at 16:00 local time (UTC+2).[1]

Qualifying report

George Russell reported incoming rain as the first segment began; the first half of the Formula 2 race earlier that day was held under heavy rain. Valtteri Bottas went off the track at turn 12, red-flagging the session due to gravel on the track, Bottas recovered back to track as the red flag was waved. Joining Bottas in the gravel was Spaniard Fernando Alonso and Alexander Albon at the final corner and turn 5, respectively. Nico Hülkenberg topped the session, but his lap time was soon deleted due to a track limits infringement. Charles Leclerc had a poor session, setting a time good enough for nineteenth and knocking him out of the first segment for the first time since the 2019 Monaco Grand Prix. Also eliminated were Bottas, Kevin Magnussen, Albon, and Logan Sargeant.

The second segment saw Sergio Pérez go off-track. An incident involving Lewis Hamilton and George Russell made contact on the main straight, with the former suffering from significant front-wing damage. Russell was investigated for impeding, before being cleared, and joined Pérez, Zhou Guanyu, and the AlphaTauris of Nyck de Vries and Yuki Tsunoda in being eliminated.

Hamilton took a new front wing as the third and final segment began and qualified in fifth. Verstappen took the pole position, his first at the Spanish Grand Prix, with Sainz trailing him behind. Lando Norris was in third while Oscar Piastri occupied the tenth and final position on the Q3 grid. Alonso had a time good enough for ninth, out-qualified by Lance Stroll in sixth. Gasly was set to enjoy a fourth-position finish, until two separate three-place penalties for impeding other drivers dropped him to tenth,[12] with teammate Esteban Ocon in seventh. Nico Hülkenberg qualified eighth.[13][14]

Qualifying classification

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Qualifying times Final
grid
Q1 Q2 Q3
1 1 Netherlands Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT 1:13.615 1:12.760 1:12.272 1
2 55 Spain Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari 1:13.411 1:12.790 1:12.734 2
3 4 United Kingdom Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes 1:13.295 1:12.776 1:12.792 3
4 10 France Pierre Gasly Alpine-Renault 1:13.471 1:13.186 1:12.816 101
5 44 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:12.937 1:12.999 1:12.818 4
6 18 Canada Lance Stroll Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes 1:13.766 1:13.082 1:12.994 5
7 31 France Esteban Ocon Alpine-Renault 1:13.433 1:13.001 1:13.083 6
8 27 Germany Nico Hülkenberg Haas-Ferrari 1:13.420 1:13.283 1:13.229 7
9 14 Spain Fernando Alonso Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes 1:13.747 1:13.098 1:13.507 8
10 81 Australia Oscar Piastri McLaren-Mercedes 1:13.691 1:13.059 1:13.682 9
11 11 Mexico Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT 1:13.874 1:13.334 N/A 11
12 63 United Kingdom George Russell Mercedes 1:13.326 1:13.447 N/A 12
13 24 China Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 1:13.677 1:13.521 N/A 13
14 21 Netherlands Nyck de Vries AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT 1:13.581 1:14.083 N/A 14
15 22 Japan Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT 1:13.862 1:14.477 N/A 15
16 77 Finland Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 1:13.977 N/A N/A 16
17 20 Denmark Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari 1:14.042 N/A N/A 17
18 23 Thailand Alexander Albon Williams-Mercedes 1:14.063 N/A N/A 18
19 16 Monaco Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:14.079 N/A N/A PL2
20 2 United States Logan Sargeant Williams-Mercedes 1:14.699 N/A N/A PL3
107% time: 1:18.042
Source:[15][16]

Notes

  • ^1 – Pierre Gasly received two three-place grid penalties for impeding Carlos Sainz Jr. and Max Verstappen in Q1.[16][17][18]
  • ^2 – Charles Leclerc qualified 19th, but he received a 15-place grid penalty for exceeding his quota of power unit elements.[19] He was then required to start the race from the pit lane due to changes made to the set up of the suspension under parc fermé.[16][20]
  • ^3 – Logan Sargeant qualified 20th, but he was required to start the race from the pit lane due to changes made to the set up of the suspension under parc fermé.[16][21]

Race

The race was held on 4 June 2023, at 15:00 local time (UTC+2).[1]

Race report

Polesitter Max Verstappen led from start to finish. Lando Norris made contact with Lewis Hamilton coming into the first corner, damaging his front wing and forcing him to come into the pit lane for a change, dropping him to last. Hamilton's floor was also damaged. Hamilton's teammate George Russell was noted by stewards for gaining an advantage on the opening chicane; no investigation was necessary. In an early stop, Valtteri Bottas swapped his softs compound tyres for hards as Charles Leclerc, who started from pit-lane, passed Alexander Albon for sixteenth; Lance Stroll was running as high as third until Hamilton passed him.

Zhou Guanyu and Nico Hülkenberg swapped their softs for hards on lap 9 with the Alfa driver overtaking the Haas. Esteban Ocon soon followed into the pits. Carlos Sainz Jr. came in on lap 16 for mediums, prompting a confused response from the Ferrari driver; meanwhile Leclerc put on softs. Sergio Pérez soon found himself behind Fernando Alonso, with the Aston Martin soon putting on softs. Norris soon returned to the pits with mediums in-hand; Hamilton followed with mediums and rejoined behind Sainz. With drivers coming in for their stops, Verstappen and Pérez led a 1–2 for Red Bull with Sainz in third; furthermore, Verstappen had pulled such a large gap he swapped for hards by lap 26 and did not lose the lead to his teammate. However, Pérez would drop to ninth after a stop for hards, and soon passed Alonso with the aid of DRS. His tyres degrading as he went, Stroll decided to take the hards and rejoined in thirteenth. Meanwhile, Oscar Piastri went into the pits along with Pierre Gasly.

By lap 50, Sainz, Alonso, Russell, Hamilton and Pérez all swapped their compounds while Verstappen was shown a black and white flag due to three track limits violations. Ocon pulled a defense on Alonso, which Alonso was able to evade. Yuki Tsunoda was given a five-second penalty for forcing Zhou off track, dropping him out of the points from ninth position. Verstappen would take the fastest lap and win the race ahead of Hamilton and Russell, earning him his third career grand slam.[22][23]

Race classification

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 1 Netherlands Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT 66 1:27:57.940 1 261
2 44 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 66 +24.090 4 18
3 63 United Kingdom George Russell Mercedes 66 +32.389 12 15
4 11 Mexico Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT 66 +35.812 11 12
5 55 Spain Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari 66 +45.698 2 10
6 18 Canada Lance Stroll Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes 66 +1:03.320 5 8
7 14 Spain Fernando Alonso Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes 66 +1:04.127 8 6
8 31 France Esteban Ocon Alpine-Renault 66 +1:09.242 6 4
9 24 China Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 66 +1:11.878 13 2
10 10 France Pierre Gasly Alpine-Renault 66 +1:13.530 10 1
11 16 Monaco Charles Leclerc Ferrari 66 +1:14.419 PL
12 22 Japan Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT 66 +1:15.4162 15
13 81 Australia Oscar Piastri McLaren-Mercedes 65 +1 lap 9
14 21 Netherlands Nyck de Vries AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT 65 +1 lap 14
15 27 Germany Nico Hülkenberg Haas-Ferrari 65 +1 lap 7
16 23 Thailand Alexander Albon Williams-Mercedes 65 +1 lap 18
17 4 United Kingdom Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes 65 +1 lap 3
18 20 Denmark Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari 65 +1 lap 17
19 77 Finland Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 65 +1 lap 16
20 2 United States Logan Sargeant Williams-Mercedes 65 +1 lap PL
Fastest lap: Netherlands Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT) – 1:16.330 (lap 61)
Source:[16][24][25]

Notes

Championship standings after the race

  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "2023 Spanish Grand Prix". Formula 1. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  2. ↑ "2023 Spanish Grand Prix Attendance: Spain's Biggest Sunday Since 2008". f1destinations.com. 5 June 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  3. ↑ Noble, Jonathan (2 June 2023). "Mercedes adds to upgrade package as top F1 teams reveal changes". Autosport.com. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  4. ↑ "2023 Formula 1 Results, Standings, Rankings and Statistics". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  5. ↑ "2023 Spanish Grand Prix – Entry List" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 2 June 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  6. ↑ "2023 Spanish Grand Prix – Preview". Pirelli.com. 30 May 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  7. ↑ Cooper, Adam (27 February 2023). "Spanish GP drops final sector chicane for 2023 F1 race". motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  8. ↑ "Formula 1 AWS Gran Premio De España 2023 - Practice 1". Formula 1. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  9. 1 2 3 "FORMULA 1 AWS GRAN PREMIO DE ESPANA 2023 - full timetable". Formula 1. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  10. ↑ "Formula 1 AWS Gran Premio De España 2023 - Practice 2". Formula 1. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  11. ↑ "Formula 1 AWS Gran Premio De España 2023 - Practice 3". Formula 1. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  12. ↑ Kew, Matt (4 June 2023). "Gasly handed two grid penalties for impeding in Barcelona F1 qualifying". Autosport.com.
  13. ↑ Kalinauckas, Alex (4 June 2023). "F1 Spanish GP: Verstappen claims pole over Sainz, Leclerc falls in Q1". Autosport.com.
  14. ↑ Bradley, Charles (4 June 2023). "F1 qualifying results: Max Verstappen takes Spanish GP pole". Autosport.com.
  15. ↑ "Formula 1 AWS Gran Premio de España 2023 – Qualifying". Formula 1. 3 June 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 "Formula 1 AWS Gran Premio de España 2023 – Starting Grid". Formula 1. 3 June 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  17. ↑ "Infringement – Car 10 – Impeding Car 55" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 4 June 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  18. ↑ "Infringement – Car 10 – Impeding Car 1" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 4 June 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  19. ↑ "Infringement – Car 16 – PU Elements" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 4 June 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  20. ↑ "Infringement – Car 16 – Changes made during Parc Ferme" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 4 June 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  21. ↑ "Infringement – Car 2 – Changes made during Parc Ferme" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 4 June 2023. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  22. ↑ Bradley, Charles (4 June 2023). "F1 results: Verstappen wins Spanish GP, Mercedes takes 2–3". Autosport.
  23. ↑ Kalinauckas, Alex (4 June 2023). "F1 Spanish GP: Verstappen dominates ahead of Hamilton and Russell". Autosport.
  24. 1 2 "Formula 1 AWS Gran Premio de España 2023 – Race Result". Formula 1. 4 June 2023. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  25. 1 2 "Formula 1 AWS Gran Premio de España 2023 – Fastest Laps". Formula 1. 4 June 2023. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  26. 1 2 "Spain 2023 – Championship". Stats F1. 4 June 2023. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
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