The event took place across the weekend of 6–8 October 2023 as the seventeenth round of the 2023 Formula One World Championship. It was the second edition of the Qatar Grand Prix and the first to be included on a season's original calendar; the inaugural 2021 edition was added as a late replacement for the cancelled Australian Grand Prix, and the race did not run in 2022 to avoid clashing with Qatar's hosting of the FIFA World Cup. The event was the first of a ten-year contract with the FIA running until 2032. The weekend used the sprint format, the fourth of six such rounds in the 2023 season.
Entering the weekend, Verstappen led the Drivers' Championship by 177 points over teammate Sergio Pérez, with Lewis Hamilton a further 33 points back in third. Red Bull Racing had already secured the Constructors' title at the preceding Japanese Grand Prix, leading Mercedes by 318 points. To seal the Drivers' title, Verstappen needed Pérez to fail to score in the sprint while he himself scored points. Pérez crashed out of the sprint, mathematically eliminating him and confirming Verstappen as champion.
The most consequential storyline of the weekend centred on tyre safety. After free practice and qualifying, Pirelli's analysis of used tyres revealed concern about separation between the carcass cord and the topping compound caused by the circuit's kerbs — a risk of blowout mirroring four front-left failures seen at the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix. Track limits at turns 12 and 13 were tightened before the sprint shootout, and a ten-minute acclimatisation session was added on Saturday.
Because the high frequency of safety cars in the sprint left insufficient tyre data, the FIA announced before Sunday's race that each set of tyres could be run for a maximum of 18 laps — reduced from an initial proposal of 20. Laps run behind the safety car would not count toward the tyre life limit. This mandate, the first time the FIA had ever enforced stint lengths in a Formula One race for safety reasons, in practice required every driver to make at least three tyre changes.
Verstappen topped both segments of qualifying to secure pole position for the main race ahead of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton. Several times were deleted for track limits violations, affecting Norris, Piastri, and Pérez; Pérez's deletion cost him a place in the top-ten shootout, and a subsequent parc fermé infringement — fitting new power unit elements without technical delegate approval — required him to start the race from the pit lane.
In the sprint shootout, Verstappen made an error that led to his lap times being deleted, opening the door for Piastri and Norris to lock out the front row for the sprint ahead of Verstappen. Logan Sargeant failed to meet the 107-percent time requirement but was permitted to race at the stewards' discretion.
The sprint ran for 19 laps on 7 October. Piastri won from pole ahead of Verstappen and Norris. Piastri's sprint win was his first competitive victory of any kind since his final Formula 2 race. Three safety car periods were triggered by five retirements; Pérez crashed out after Esteban Ocon locked up and drove into his side pod, also damaging Nico Hülkenberg's front wing and suspension. The stewards ruled it a racing incident. Alexander Albon climbed from seventeenth to seventh, and Fernando Alonso finished eighth. Post-race time penalties dropped Charles Leclerc and Lance Stroll from their finishing positions for track limit violations.
The 57-lap main race on 8 October began with two notable incidents before the first lap was complete. Carlos Sainz Jr. was unable to start due to a fuel leak discovered on the grid, leaving his slot vacant — which Hülkenberg inadvertently occupied, earning a ten-second penalty. At the first corner, Hamilton turned into George Russell's Mercedes, breaking his own front hub and spinning into the gravel, triggering a safety car cleared on lap 4.
From the front, Verstappen led every lap, set the fastest lap, and took a fourth career grand chelem. Piastri recovered from a lower grid position to finish second, Norris third — giving McLaren their 500th and 501st podiums. Pérez started from the pit lane and recovered to tenth after Stroll received multiple five-second time penalties for track limit infringements. McLaren set a new pit stop world record, servicing Norris in 1.80 seconds, bettering the 1.82-second record set by Red Bull Racing at the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix.
The race was run in severe heat that drew widespread comment from drivers. Ocon vomited twice inside his car yet finished seventh. Sargeant retired from heat stroke and dehydration, worsened by pre-existing flu-like symptoms; his Williams teammate Albon was sent to the medical centre after the race for heat exposure. Stroll went directly to the medical centre and reported blurred vision and near-blackouts. Russell said he was close to losing consciousness toward the end of the race. Verstappen, Piastri, Norris, Leclerc, Russell, and Ocon all described it as the most physically demanding race of their careers.
Verstappen's victory moved him to three consecutive Drivers' Championships. The top five in the Drivers' Championship after the race were Verstappen, Pérez, Hamilton, Alonso, and Carlos Sainz Jr. Red Bull Racing retained a commanding lead in the Constructors' Championship.