00:07George Russell putting the pressure on Max Verstappen.
00:09Hamilton got the launch off the line, goes around the outside, he's hit his teammate!
00:13Lewis Hamilton turns into George Russell and the Mercedes collide at the first turn.
00:18Three into one did not go and the wheel came off there for Lewis Hamilton.
00:23The wheels come off for Mercedes, Max Verstappen leads,
00:26contact between Russell and Hamilton, absolutely dramatic start in the first couple of corners.
00:32We will probably need a safety car intervention, scrappy start at the beginning of this one.
00:37Yeah, and Hamilton unsurprisingly gets that extra drive off those tires,
00:42picking up a bit of a distant tour there from Max Verstappen as well.
00:45He then gets a little bit of a squeeze from his teammate, but goes brave on the brakes,
00:49but just shuts the corner down. I'm sorry, he just didn't leave enough space.
00:56Come on! What the hell?!
00:58This would be interesting, I think Russell momentarily loses a little bit of grip as well
01:02and washes wide off, barely. I mean it is, you're right DC, is Hamilton really turning in,
01:07going aggressive on the soft tire, but it's his error there and he's taken out his teammate,
01:12which is just worst case scenario.
01:14No snap, you're okay mate.
01:16Yeah, I'm taking out my own teammate.
01:18Lewis is exceptional in wheel-to-wheel comeback, but I think he got it wrong today.
01:23And that is Eniko going straight through. He must know what he's done here.
01:28Suddenly you're looking at the back of a McLaren thinking,
01:31I wasn't close to these guys, was I? But that's where Carlos Sait should have started.
01:35And we go across the line and we begin lap five on an already dramatic weekend.
01:40Here in Qatar it is Verstappen, then Piastri, then Alonso, Leclerc, Ocon, Norris, Gasly, Tsunoda, Hülkenberg and Albon the top ten.
01:48Looking to the inside there, car 22, Yuki Tsunoda up against his old teammate Pierre Gasly, hangs onto it around the outside.
01:57And now Yuki Tsunoda in the Alfa Tauri had been on the attack on the restart and Hülkenberg trying to go the long way round.
02:06And he does so in the Haas. Hülkenberg was so disappointed yesterday to be taken out at this corner.
02:12Today though, it's a better result for him and he's up to eighth.
02:15Here's Russell once again. Perez on the hard tire is struggling.
02:18Russell around the outside. Did he make it work? He did make it work!
02:22And that's the compound advantage and a tidy pass for George Russell, who manages to go the long way round and take 13th place.
02:30Now on board with Alonso. That's what a big dose of Overseer looks like as he commits to the corner.
02:36And those fast hands, but there's no question that takes him beyond track limits.
02:41As we join George Russell on that pass on the Alfa Romeo, door wide open.
02:47He just slots it in there quite nicely. He's a man on the move.
02:52Great move for Lando Norris as he fights his way by, trying to score his most podiums ever in a Formula One season.
02:59As he three went and he's looking to be on the podium for the fifth time this year.
03:05That is George Russell making a pass once again and fights his way back through.
03:10This was the attempt, DC, as he tried to go the long way round.
03:14Yeah, he just got a little bit squeezed on that entry phase.
03:17And I guess, you know, feisty George Russell will be a bit angry with that because he was lining up, wasn't he, as he entered the corner and then got a little squeeze on the entry phase.
03:26If Russell can go around the outside, this time he does and he's up to seventh place past the Alpi.
03:35Yeah, nice move there from Russell.
03:38Here comes Fernando Alonso into the pits. He comes to hit his marks. He's going to be under threat from Lando Norris on the evidence that we've seen of that stint.
03:47Each of these stops for McLaren have not been really that good for the drivers. They've put them out just in a bit of traffic each time.
03:56But he's ahead of Alonso and that's the big one for McLaren. Norris went another lap or two and he managed to clear Fernando Alonso.
04:03Considering there's only 18 cars in this race and Alonso off the road. He was off for a minor moment earlier in the Grand Prix.
04:13That's a major one. He's been through the gravel and there is Charles Leclerc trying to punish the error and he'll do so.
04:21Yeah, he turned in on the curb and the rear said, no, no, not now. We're not giving you the grip you expect.
04:28And now Stroll up against Ocon is the battle we're looking at. And Ocon's going to fight away by now. These two get on pretty well.
04:38They still get on brilliantly at the edge of the corner. The curb inspected by the Aston Martin. Eighth place seized by the Frenchman.
04:47I don't feel well, man.
04:49You're the one making the call if you want to retire or not, Logan. There's no shame to retire if you're feeling unwell.
04:55I need to stop.
04:57Well, at least the car is going to be in one piece.
05:01McLaren struggling to get out of Q1 at the start of the season. Now find themselves regularly troubling the podium.
05:08Piastri with a two second stop. That's mighty handy for his quest for second place.
05:122.1. They are flying at the moment. It's going to be close. It's going to be so tight down the main straight. Out of the pits comes Lando Norris. Through goes Oscar Piastri though to maintain second position.
05:26Having come out of the pits. This is Logan Sargent easing himself out of the car. You can see him dripping from his race suit.
05:36Look at this. I think he was scooping some air. Look at that. He's just getting some air through his gloves.
05:40Tap, tap, tap. Let's get on with it.
05:42He's in eighth gear. He's heading down to turn one.
05:46This is Gasly up against Lance Stroll. And that's the long way around. That's too long a way around. That you can't overtake off the road.
05:54You have to feather back the throttle and give the position back there because you cannot overtake with all four wheels off the racetrack.
06:01Gasly, I was going to say he knows it, but he doesn't know it as he shuts the door on Stroll.
06:08So Gasly checking the mirrors. Stroll being pursued by Perez. Gasly told to give back the position.
06:15We're very nearly going three wide. Gasly tries to give the position back to Stroll, but there's also Perez on the inside.
06:21Perez takes the pair of them or at least he will do. No, he won't. Stroll stays ahead. So Stroll fights there.
06:26And Perez carving left, carving right, trying to find a way back. He's soaring away at the back of the Aston Martin.
06:34And Lance Stroll turns in and keeps the place. And I thought we were heading to the gravel trap, but the Canadian driver hangs on to ninth.
06:43And now there's the opportunity for the Alpine trying to take the place back up against Perez.
06:48And behind the building we go. This time I think Gasly did keep all four wheels on the road.
06:53And Gasly gets through back into tenth position, but with that penalty hanging over him.
06:59Max Verstappen is almost home. He was second yesterday in the sprint, but this has been 57 victory laps to celebrate the title that he won yesterday.
07:09Max Verstappen wins the Qatar Grand Prix and it's his 49th career win.
07:15Oscar Piastri with a dream weekend. Second in the Grand Prix today from sixth on the grid.
07:20And it's tenth on the grid to third in the race for Lando Norris who finished 1.1 seconds behind his teammate.
07:27It has been incredibly hot, humid and heavy workout there, but no matter the conditions, whether they be wet, whether they be dry, whether the stints be mandated by Pirelli and the FIA, whatever format you throw at Formula One in 2023, Max Verstappen has an answer.
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