#F1 #QatarGP #Qualifying: @Max33Verstappen pips @GeorgeRussell63 to pole by 0.055s.
Max Verstappen, #1, Oracle Red Bull Racing, Honda-RBPT, RB20, in Parc Ferme being presented the Pirelli P1 Pole Position awards by Mutaz Barshim. Qualifying, Formula 1 Qatar Airways Qatar Grand Prix 2024, Lusail International Circuit, Lusail City, Qatar. Image credit to Mark Thompson/Getty Images. Verstappen Qatar GP Pole, 2024 Qatar GP Qualifying, Qatar GP Qualifying Results, Qatar Grand Prix Qualifying, Formula 1 Qatar Qualifying.
Verstappen Qatar GP Pole – Newly-crowned four time World Champion Max Verstappen pipped Mercedes’ George Russell to take his 41st-career position at an entertaining qualifying session at the Qatar GP as McLaren’s Lando Norris rounded out the top three.
This was Verstappen’s ninth pole of the 2024 campaign and the first since the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix. Both McLaren’s of Norris and sprint winner Oscar Piastri crucially qualified ahead of both Ferrari’s in their attempt to secure the World Constructor’s Championship, which currently stands at 30 points clear.
In Q3, the initial hot-laps saw Sainz set a 1:21.042 to take P1 only for a few seconds as team-mate Leclerc bettered it with a 1:20.885, behind them Norris lost half-a-second on his initial flying lap and boxed it to the pits.
Russell then set all purples to go provisional pole with a 1:20.575 as Piastri only wounded up fifth fastest on his first hot-lap.
Verstappen then set the best sector one effort and two personal bests to slot into second behind Russell with a 1:20.620 and 0.045 seconds off.
On the final flyers, Sainz was first but did not improve and remained in fifth, Leclerc also was unable to improve as both Piastri then slotted into third on his last effort before team-mate Norris demoted his team-mate to fourth.
Verstappen set a purple sector one and two personal bests and pipped Russell to pole by 0.055 seconds. However Verstappen is under investigation by the race stewards for not meeting the maximum delta time and also potentially impeding Russell on-track.
Both the McLaren’s of Norris and Piastri were third and fourth respectively.
Ferrari’s Leclerc and Sainz ended up in fifth and seventh respectively as Mercedes’ Sir Lewis Hamilton split the duo in sixth. Sainz is under investigation by the race stewards for an unsafe pit release into the path of Hamilton.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso had his initial flyer invalidated for exceeding track limits at turn 10, but on his last hot-lap managed an effort only good enough for eighth as the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez and Haas’s Kevin Magnussen rounded out the top ten.
In the second qualifying stage, which was topped by Verstappen, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly missed out on a Q3 appearance by a narrow 0.012 seconds and wounded up 11th.
The two Sauber’s followed with Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas qualifying in 12th and 13th respectively.
RB’s Yuki Tsunoda and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll were the slowest of the Q2 runners in 14th and 15th.
In the opening segment, which was topped by Russell, a late improvement by Tsunoda sent Williams’ Alexander Albon out of Q1 and missed out on a Q2 appearance by a slim 0.026 seconds.
RB’s Liam Lawson scored two personal bests in the last two sectors to only end up 17th and in-front of Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg who was a low-18th and did not complete a final flyer.
The other Williams FW46 entry of Franco Colapinto and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon brought up the rear.
You can see the full Formula 1 Qatar Airways Qatar Grand Prix 2024 Qualifying Results Classification at the link: https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2024/races/1251/qatar/qualifying
2024 Qatar GP Qualifying – The Top Three
2024 Qatar GP Pole Position – Max Verstappen, #1, Oracle Red Bull Racing, Honda-RBPT, RB20 – 1:20.520:
“Crazy, honestly, I didn’t expect that. Well done to the team for giving me a car that feels more connected, so I could push a bit harder. We did change a bit on the car, but I never thought it would make such a swing in performance. Very happy to be on pole – it’s been awhile.”
2nd Place – George Russell, #63, Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team, F1 W15 – +0.055s:
“It’s been a great run, the last four qualifying’s we’ve been on the front row every one, which is more than we could have dreamt of. My first lap was one of the best I’ve ever done, then on the last lap Max just pipped me. I ended up going through the gravel [after coming up behind Verstappen], maybe that’s the reason we didn’t improve. It was a hairy one, two corners before we started our lap.”
3rd Place – Lando Norris, #4, McLaren Formula 1 Team-Mercedes, MCL38 – +0.252s:
“Not the position we were hoping for, but the maximum we could do for sure. So happy with the lap, but not happy with the result. there’s not a lot in it between all of us, so we hope we can go forward.”
2024 F1 World Championship Standings
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