It was a controlled and confident drive from the Dutchman in gruelling driving conditions along with a high risk of punctures. Sergio Pérez, meanwhile, battled back from a pit lane start and three time penalties for track limits transgression to take 10th place and a single point.
The FIA ruled that teams could complete no more than 18 laps on any set of tyres across the 57 laps, following issues reported with Pirelli’s tyres earlier in the weekend. That meant a minimum of three pit stops for everyone.
When the lights went out, Max got away well on his set of Medium tyres. While George Russell tried to pressure the World Champion, his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton got the best start of the three but heading into Turn 1 there was contact between the Mercedes pair.
Hamilton lost a wheel and slid off track and out of the race. Russell was forced to pit for damage checks and dropped to the back of the field.
Further back, Checo, who started from the pit lane, made swift moves at the start of the race and when the Safety Car was deployed, he found himself up in P14 behind Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu.
As soon as the Safety Car left track, Max went to work creating a gap between himself and the McLaren of Oscar Piastri.
At the end of lap 11, third-placed Alonso triggered the first round of pitstops with Piastri and Leclerc, sitting second and fourth respectively, coming in to the pits at the end of the following tour.
However, Max and Checo bided their time with Max coming in at the end of lap 17. He made the switch to a second set of Medium tyres in 2.4s and rejoined in P2 behind Williams’ Alex Albon who had yet to pit.
With enough space between Max and Checo on track, the Team was able to bring Checo in for his first stop too. The Mexican, who had been running in P3 prior to Max’s stop, switched to medium tyres and rejoined in P15.
Williams’ Albon made his first stop and returned the race lead to the reigning World Champion. Max now led Piastri by 7.4 seconds with Alonso still running third ahead of Leclerc.
Further back, Checo quickly made his way past Albon, and as a number of drivers who were on four-stop strategies made second stops, Checo climbed into the points up to P9.
Checo’s race was then dealt a major blow as he was hit with a five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits one too many times. He made his second stop at the end of lap 32 for medium tyres after serving his penalty. He rejoined the track in P12, behind Gasly once more.
However, Sergio would be hit with a further five-second time penalty in his third stint, again for track limits violations.
Back at the front, Max led Piastri by 34 seconds when he came in for his second stop. He took on a set of hard tyres at the end of lap 34, he rejoined just under nine seconds clear.
Piastri made his final stop of the race at the end of lap 43, moving to hard tyres. Checo then made his final stop, serving his second penalty and switching to mediums for his final stint. He rejoined in P12, where he once again ended up behind Gasly.
Max made his final stop at the end of lap 51 and the Dutchman moved to a set of medium tyres. The stop was slow due to an issue with the front left, but he still rejoined in the lead and four seconds ahead of Piastri and Norris.
Max was firmly in control and that was as close as the McLaren cars got. The Dutchman made it his 14th win of 2023 and with it, sealed the Drivers’ World Championship title in his favour.
Following the race, Max Verstappen said, “We had a really good race today. I think what really made it for me was the first stint where we were strong and good on the tyres.
“I had a slow stop at the end so the McLarens were quite close at the chequered flag but they have been quick all weekend. Of course, with the mandatory three stops, we weren’t able to get the best out of our car as we are good on tyres, but we won and that’s the main thing.
“My hunger for winning hasn’t stopped since winning the Championship, I want to keep going and maximising the performance of the car each weekend.”
Checo finished with a point after being hit with a third five-second penalty for track limits at the end of the race putting him in 10th position.
Sergio Pérez said, “It was a difficult afternoon, starting on the hard tyre really complicated things for us, especially with the early Safety Car. It meant we couldn’t warm up the tyres and then we ended up losing positions and couldn’t make progress quickly enough, and as much as we should have.
“I really suffered with the new track limits, they were brought in very last minute, which I don’t think is right but it is the same for everyone and I should have done a better job.
“Overall, we have plenty to look at and I will be in the factory this week working hard with my Team.”
Following the race, Christian Horner said, “For Max it was an incredible win. It’s been a very tough race, both physically and mentally, for all the drivers. In a race that was very prescriptive and sub optimal to the fastest race, Max drove well and very controlled, trying to manage the tyres.
“For Checo it was another tough race. The 15 seconds of penalties really impacted his overall performance and meant a missed opportunity to capitalise on points with Lewis out of the race.
“Checo just needs to get that form back that he had at the beginning of the season and we know he can do it. He knows he can do it. He has our full support.”