Written by Maria Fashchevskaya
Max Verstappen sped to pole position after a weekend of struggle at Rued Bull. George Russell followed the Dutchman, claiming P2 in front of McLaren duo, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
Max Verstappen sped to pole position, usurping everyone. George Russell could not reach the pace of the Dutchman, claiming P2 in front of Lando Norris in P3 and Oscar Piastri in P4. The McLaren duo could not match their pace of the sprint qualifying, on Friday.
Charles Leclerc dropped to P5. He was followed by Lewis Hamilton in P6 and Carlos Sainz in P7. Fernando Alonso failed to set a magnificent time and stayed in P8. Sergio Perez qualified in P9, failing to match his teammate's pace and was in front of Kevin Magnussen in P10.
Previously in the day, McLaren have extended their lead in the Constructor's Championship, as Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris finished 1-2 in the Qatar Sprint. To the surprise of spectators and the team itself, Norris handed his lead over to the Australian, repaying the favor Piastri had given him in Brazil in the same way. McLaren now sit 30 points ahead of Ferrari.
The Ferraris are up to speed, especially when it comes to race pace, while they have struggled with pace over one lap. Overall, the Mercedes cars have looked quicker than the Ferraris across one lap, as George Russell has been very quick in the Sprint earlier. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton is fighting to finish on a high note in the last two race weekends for Mercedes in his career.
As the Qatar race was a very physical one last year, it has seemed that it could be as hard as last time on the drivers.
Read here, how qualifying unfolded:
Q1
As qualifying was about to unfold, traffic unfolded in the pit lane. The Mercedes and Haas drivers were the first ones to hit the track. Meanwhile, the cars were slow to go out, as Charles Leclerc remarked on team radio: "Nobody is moving, it's crazy."
Most of the drivers went out on soft tyres (C3). With 13 minutes to go, everyone was out on track and the first drivers had their flying laps. At that time, Lance Stroll led the time board with a 1:22.384s. But Lando Norris and Max Verstappen soared him, the latter hit a 1:21.713s on his timed lap.
Then the first time was deleted by the stewards, as Franco Colapinto exceeded track limits at turn six. Both Mercedes looked good on pace, as they went first and fourth on the board. Meanwhile, the Ferraris struggled on their lap times, as Carlos Sainz went into the pits early for a stop.
With eight and a half minutes to go, both Alpine were yet to have flying laps. Kevin Magnussen, Guanyu Zhou and Franco Colapinto were in the elimination zone, too. Magnussen started his lap but had aborted it after having a snap into turn four, sending him wide.
On the edge of elimination was Alex Albon. He was knocked down by Hulkenberg, as the German finished his flying lap. The cars of Racing Bulls struggled, sitting in P14 and P15, too. Sergio Perez would not feel safe in P11 as well.
With two minutes to go, Tsunoda, Hulkenberg, Albon, Colapinto, and Ocon were in the elimination zone, as Lawson was on the edge of it. The Argentinian started his final try in Q1 right then, being followed by his teammate.
As the chequered flag was waved, Franco Colapinto finished his flying lap, but failed to improve in grid positions. The same went for Esteban Ocon, as they improved their individual times. Alex Albon kicked out Lawson, as he himself was usurped by Yuki Tsunoda. Nico Hulkenberg stuck at the bottom of the grid, too.
Knocked out: Albon, Lawson, Hulkenberg, Colapinto, Ocon.
Q2
The surprise of Q2: Both Kick Sauber cars qualified for the second part of qualifying, for the first time this season. As the second part of qualifying went underway, a queue formed in the pit lane again. The Mercedes' and Ferraris were the first teams to go out on track.
George Russell was the first driver to have a timed lap. He set a 1:21.161s on the clock. This time was usurped by Max Verstappen, with a gap of 0.076s. With ten minutes to go, Magnussen, Alonso, Gasly, Stroll, ans Tsunoda were in the elimination zone.
Then Kevin Magnussen improved to ninth position, for now. He soared both Kick Sauber cars that had had almost identical timed laps. Meanwhile, a time of Sergio Perez was deleted for exceeding track limits in the first sector.
Stewards noted an unsafe release of Carlos Sainz out of the pits, as the Spaniard almost hit Lewis Hamilton. With five minutes to go, everyone was in the pits for a fresher set of tyres. Russell went to the top, being quicker than Verstappen only 0.001s. His beautiful time was deleted for track limits.
The same situation unfolded in the middle of the field, as Sainz, Hamilton and Magnussen were only a couple thousands of second apart. Then Lando Norris soared everyone with a time 1:20.983s. He went into the pits directly after that. His teammate opted to stay in pits, as he felt safe in P5.
In the elimination zone were Bottas, Zhou, Tsunoda, Stroll, and Alonso. Both Kick Sauber cars failed to improve, as well as, Lance Stroll. Fernando Alonso was on his last timed lap in the qualifying round and finished it, usurping drivers to P8.
Yuki Tsunoda did not finish his lap and went into the pits, as he sat in P14. Pierre Gasly expressed his disappointment on the team radio, as he missed Q3, qualifying in P11. But Sergio Perez managed to get through to Q3, with a gap of 0.011s to Gasly. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen sat another fastest lap with a 1:20.687s on the clock.
Knocked out: Gasly, Zhou, Bottas, Tsunoda, Stroll.
Q3
As the final part of qualifying unfolded, the top ten drivers today went out on track immediately. As a reminder, these were Charles Leclerc, George Russell, Lewis Hamilton, Oscar Piastri, Carlos Sainz, Fernando Alonso, Kevin Magnussen, Lando Norris, Sergio Perez, and Max Verstappen.
With eight to go, only four drivers had set lap times, led by Leclerc with a 1:20.885s on the clock. Then a good lap of Fernando Alonso was deleted due to track limits in turn ten. Replays showed how Lando Norris dipped into the gravel at turn five due to oversteer, leaving him to return to the pits for a check of his tyres.
With five minutes to go, most drivers went into the pits before a second try around the track in Qatar. Max Verstappen was on a flying lap and went second, leaving half a tenth gap to Russell on temporary pole position.
With two minutes to go, traffic ensued on track, as everyone was on a fast lap. Sprint pole-sitter Lando Norris was yet to set a time in Q3, too. Carlos Sainz stayed in P5, as he improved only his individual time. The same went for his teammate Charles Leclerc in P3.
As the chequered flag was waved, Max Verstappen sped to pole position for the first time since the Austrian Grand Prix weekend. Russell could not reach the pace of the Dutchman, but finished P2 just ahead of the two McLarens of Norris in P3 and Piastri in P4. Both McLarens fared slightly worse compared to their dominance in the sprint earlier on.
Charles Leclerc was the lead Ferrari in P5, followed by Hamilton in sixth and Sainz down in P7. Fernando Alonso managed to set a magnificent time to move up to eighth. Sergio Perez qualified in P9, making it to Q3 for the first time since Austin, and was in front of Kevin Magnussen in P10.
Who will win the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix? Let’s watch and see tomorrow at 4 p.m. BST (7 p.m. track time).
Commenti