Max Verstappen claimed pole in Qatar, beating Russell, while McLaren outpaced Ferrari to take a strong position behind the leaders.
The Qatar Grand Prix Sprint and its qualifying session confirmed McLaren F1’s superiority on the Losail circuit. Lando Norris secured pole position and dominated the Sprint, with Oscar Piastri ultimately taking the win for a resounding one-two finish.
George Russell played the role of spoiler for Ferrari at the start of the weekend, and the Scuderia conceded points to McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship battle, with now a 30-point gap.
Qualifying took place under a new sequence without a Parc Fermé condition, meaning teams were allowed to make adjustments to their cars and settings after the first part of the weekend.
It remains to be seen whether this will help Ferrari, and especially Red Bull, recover, as the Austrian team struggled at the start of the weekend. Max Verstappen may fight for pole, while Sergio Pérez will look to make amends after a disastrous start to his weekend.
Q1 – 18 minutes
The drivers took their time leaving the pits, which frustrated Charles Leclerc: “No one is moving, this is crazy.” It was so slow that Kevin Magnussen began his flying lap while the last drivers were still in the pit lane.
Valtteri Bottas set the first time, and Lance Stroll improved with a 1:22.384, while the Haas drivers opted for two warm-up laps, as did Sergio Pérez. Fernando Alonso placed second, and Carlos Sainz returned to the pits before crossing the line.
Leclerc positioned himself between the Aston Martins, and Pérez placed fourth with the same time as Alonso. Norris went faster with a 1:22.029, and Verstappen set a 1:21.713. Nico Hülkenberg was placed behind Pérez, and Franco Colapinto had his time deleted for exceeding track limits.
Piastri took third, less than a tenth behind Norris, and Yuki Tsunoda posted the ninth-best provisional time, just ahead of Bottas. The Mercedes drivers made their efforts, with Lewis Hamilton finishing fourth.
Bottas climbed to fifth, just behind his former teammate, and George Russell went fastest of all with a 1:21.519. Sainz pushed again and moved up to fourth. Pérez improved to seventh.
Norris also improved, moving into second place. Tsunoda rose to 11th, Liam Lawson went faster by nine thousandths in the other RB F1, and Stroll set the fourth-fastest time. Alonso also improved to claim third, just 0.089s behind Russell.
The Alpine drivers saved a set of tires, only posting their times with 8 minutes to go in Q1. Pierre Gasly continued his strong run with the fifth-fastest time, while Esteban Ocon placed 20th.
The Haas drivers did not improve their first sector on their new attempt, and Russell announced he would provide a tow to Hamilton, as he was already assured of making it through to Q2 with his best time.
Hülkenberg eventually improved but only managed 15th, while Magnussen moved up to 12th, pushing his teammate into the elimination zone. Leclerc improved to fourth, just 0.111s behind Russell. Hamilton progressed to sixth, closing to within 0.118s of Russell.
Sainz moved up to second, and Verstappen progressed to fourth. With 3 minutes remaining in Q1, seven drivers were separated by just two-tenths, but Russell improved to 1:21.335.
Colapinto improved but didn’t climb the ranks, unlike Albon, who moved up to 15th. Ocon remained in 20th. Leclerc took the lead with a 1:21.278. Pérez climbed to eighth.
Bottas placed 11th, Sainz improved but stayed third. Lawson improved but could only manage 16th, while Tsunoda moved up to 15th. Russell regained the fastest time with a 1:21.241. Gasly moved into the top 10. Haas believed they had “done something wrong” on Hülkenberg’s car, leaving him 18th.
The drivers eliminated were Albon, Lawson, Hülkenberg, Colapinto, and Ocon.
Q2 – 15 minutes
Lawson complained that Alonso had “deliberately slowed down” in front of him when he aborted his fast lap, but his engineer, Pierre Hamelin, clarified that “it was Stroll” ahead of him at that moment. The replay showed the Canadian did everything he could to move off the racing line.
Russell posted a first lap time of 1:21.161, with Sainz over three-tenths slower. Piastri slotting between the two drivers, and Leclerc placed just behind Piastri, ahead of his teammate.
Hamilton set the fifth-fastest time, 0.433s behind his teammate, and Verstappen finished with the fastest time at 1:21.085. Norris had set the best first sector but lost time in the second. Pérez posted the fourth-fastest time, and Norris took fourth, just ahead of the Mexican.
Alonso had his first time of the second qualifying session canceled due to a track limit violation. Magnussen placed ninth, with Stroll in 13th, behind Bottas, Zhou, and Tsunoda. Gasly set the sixth-fastest time.
Piastri improved, closing to within 0.036s of Verstappen. A replay showed that Sainz was released dangerously from the pits in front of Hamilton, but the Spaniard did enough to give way to his rival.
Russell improved to 1:21.084, just one thousandth ahead of Verstappen! Sainz lost significant time in the second sector, improving without gaining any positions, missing out by a thousandth of a second on Leclerc.
Leclerc reclaimed third, pushing Piastri to fourth, despite being 0.037s behind Russell. Verstappen improved to 1:21.049, temporarily regaining the top spot in the session. Norris improved again, taking the lead with a 1:20.983, 66 thousandths faster than Verstappen.
Tsunoda rose to 10th, and Magnussen set the best second sector overall, moving up to sixth. Zhou also improved, setting the 11th-fastest time. Stroll could not improve beyond 14th, and Bottas progressed to 12th, just behind Zhou.
Leclerc took second, Russell improved to fourth, and Sainz placed sixth. Alonso set the seventh-fastest time, Hamilton was fifth, and Verstappen improved to 1:20.687!
The eliminated drivers were Gasly, Zhou, Bottas, Tsunoda, and Stroll.
Q3 – 12 minutes
Two Red Bulls, two Mercedes, two Ferraris, two McLarens, one Aston Martin, and one Haas made it to Q3 of the Qatar Grand Prix. For pole position, the contenders appeared to be Leclerc, Norris, Piastri, Russell, Sainz, and Verstappen.
Magnussen set a 1:21.500, beaten by Sainz with a 1:21.042, then by Leclerc with a 1:20.885. Russell, Piastri, and Hamilton completed two preparation laps, and Pérez only placed fourth behind Magnussen.
Alonso took third, but his time was canceled for track limit violations. Norris was quick but canceled his lap to return to the pits after a mistake.
Russell completed his lap with a very strong 1:20.575! Piastri could not improve beyond fourth, and Hamilton moved up to third, closing the gap to the front.
Verstappen finished his lap with the second-fastest time, just 0.045s behind Russell. Norris went out early, aiming to have time for a second attempt if needed.
The Briton eased off after a subpar first sector. It’s possible he felt the car was outside the optimal tire window, as had happened several times on Friday. Norris planned another slow lap to prepare for a single fast lap at the end of the session.
The Ferrari drivers could not improve on Russell’s first sector. Sainz completed his lap in fifth, and Leclerc improved but stayed third.
Piastri took third, and Norris improved to set the third-fastest time as well! The McLarens placed ahead of the Ferraris, but behind Russell and Verstappen, who went faster than Russell to claim pole with a 1:20.520! Hamilton took sixth.
Verstappen secured his 41st pole position, his first since the Austrian Grand Prix! He had set the fastest time in Belgium but was penalized there.
After a disappointing Sprint, Red Bull made significant progress, and credit must go to Sébastien Buemi, the simulator driver at Milton Keynes this weekend, who likely played a crucial role in these improvements.
Russell is second and will join Verstappen on the front row. The McLarens are on the second row, with Norris ahead of Piastri, while Leclerc and Hamilton will share the third row.
Sainz and Alonso form an all-Spanish fourth row, while Pérez qualified ninth, nearly a second off Verstappen. Magnussen rounded out the top 10 and will start on the fifth row.
It is worth noting that the replay shows Verstappen blocking Russell in a very dangerous manner, which could lead to a penalty for the Red Bull driver. We will keep you updated on Nextgen-Auto regarding the outcome of this maneuver.
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Honda RBPT RB20 | 1:21.579 | 1:20.687 | 1:20.520 |
| 02 | George Russell | Mercedes W15 | 1:21.241 | 1:21.069 | 1:20.575 |
| 03 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes MCL38 | 1:21.578 | 1:20.983 | 1:20.772 |
| 04 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes MCL38 | 1:21.821 | 1:21.121 | 1:20.829 |
| 05 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari SF-24 | 1:21.278 | 1:21.000 | 1:20.852 |
| 06 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes W15 | 1:21.637 | 1:21.095 | 1:21.011 |
| 07 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari SF-24 | 1:21.447 | 1:21.199 | 1:21.041 |
| 08 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Mercedes AMR24 | 1:21.608 | 1:21.208 | 1:21.251 |
| 09 | Sergio Pérez | Red Bull Honda RBPT RB20 | 1:21.675 | 1:21.425 | 1:21.425 |
| 10 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari VF-24 | 1:21.891 | 1:21.387 | 1:21.500 |
| — | —————- | ————— | ———- | ———- | ———- |
| 11 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Renault A524 | 1:21.843 | 1:21.437 | |
| 12 | Guanyu Zhou | Stake F1 Kick Sauber C44 | 1:22.103 | 1:21.501 | |
| 13 | Valtteri Bottas | Stake F1 Kick Sauber C44 | 1:21.927 | 1:21.731 | |
| 14 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB Honda RBPT VCARB 01 | 1:22.364 | 1:21.771 | |
| 15 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Mercedes AMR24 | 1:22.011 | 1:21.911 | |
| — | —————- | ————— | ———- | ———- | ———- |
| 16 | Alex Albon | Williams Mercedes FW46 | 1:22.390 | ||
| 17 | Liam Lawson | RB Honda RBPT VCARB 01 | 1:22.411 | ||
| 18 | Nico Hülkenberg | Haas Ferrari VF-24 | 1:22.442 | ||
| 19 | Franco Colapinto | Williams Mercedes FW46 | 1:22.594 | ||
| 20 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine Renault A524 | 1:22.714 |
Verstappen Takes Pole in Qatar, McLaren Outpaces Ferrari Verstappen Takes Pole in Qatar, McLaren Outpaces Ferrari Verstappen Takes Pole in Qatar, McLaren Outpaces Ferrari
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