Following the upgrade package to the MercedesW14 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]
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]
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]
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]
^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]
Max Verstappen
