The Dutch driver celebrated sealing his third F1 world title by finishing second in Saturday night's Qatar sprint race, which was won by Oscar Piastri, and has the perfect opportunity to toast his championship triumph in Sunday’s grand prix.
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But all teams and drivers could be given a potential strategy curveball from the outcome of the FIA and Pirelli investigation into the tyre sidewall issues, which forced track changes at Turn 12 and 13.
An option that has been mooted is forcing all drivers into three-stop strategies for the grand prix, with a maximum of 20 racing laps allowed per tyre set across the 57-lap race, while a final call is expected on Sunday before the race.
Verstappen will be joined on the front row by George Russell, with Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton third alongside Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso in fourth.
After a penalty for track limits infringements dropped him out of the points in the sprint race, lead Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc starts fifth ahead of the Qatar sprint winner Piastri, who dropped from third to sixth after Friday qualifying when his best lap time was deleted for exceeding track limits.
Alpine duo Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon line up seventh and eighth in front of Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas, with Piastri's team-mate Lando Norris 10th after also having his best lap deleted for track limits on Friday.
Date: Sunday 8 October 2023
Start time: 6:00pm BST, 8:00pm local time
The 17th round of the 2023 F1 season, the Qatar GP at the Losail International Circuit, gets under way at 8:00pm local time (6:00pm BST) on Sunday 8 October.
Source: Autosport