F1 Qatar Grand Prix 2023 - As it happened

He has a 10-second time penalty for starting in the wrong position. 

The race is back underway with Verstappen 1.4s clear of Piastri.

Verstappen, Piastri, Alonso, Leclerc, Ocon, Norris, Gasly, Tsunoda, Hulkenberg and Albon is the order at the restart.

Bottas, Magnussen, Stroll and Lawson have all come into the pit lane.

Safety Car in this lap (Lap 4).

"I got taken out by my own teammate."

Verstappen, Piastri, Alonso, Leclerc, Ocon, Norris, Gasly, Tsunoda, Bottas, Hulkenberg, Albon, Sargeant, Stroll, Magnussen, Lawson, Zhou, Perez.

Russell is in the pits for a new front wing.

The Mercedes drivers have collided! Hamilton is out of the race.

Verstappen leads the pack onto the formation lap.

57 laps tonight. 

Softs for Hamilton, Bottas, Lawson and Magnussen.

Mediums for everyone else; Perez on the hard.

REVISED STARTING GRID

Carlos Sainz will NOT start the race due to a fuel system issue on his car, and it's a pit lane start for Sergio Perez  #F1#QatarGPpic.twitter.com/C1YU7HqnWF

— Formula 1 (@F1) October 8, 2023

Verstappen has wrapped the title up but there's still a lot to play for out there.

Hamilton is 29 points behind Perez, who starts from the pit lane, in the battle for P2.

Norris is closing in on the Ferrari duo in the drivers' championship, while McLaren are very close to overtaking Aston Martin in the constructors'

AlphaTauri boss Franz Tost expects Daniel Ricciardo to be back in the car in Austin in two weeks.

However, the simulator run on Monday didn't go as smoothly as hoped - so it's not set in stone.

Verstappen, Russell, Hamilton, Alonso, Leclerc, Piastri, Gasly, Ocon, Bottas, Norris, Tsunoda, Albon, Hulkenberg, Sargeant, Stroll, Lawson, Magnussen and Zhou.

Perez will start from the pit lane.

Imposed by the FIA, all drivers will be forced to complete at least three pit stops

Here's why...

Carlos Sainz won't take part due to a technical issue

Full explanation can be found here...