Max Verstappen takes pole position at Qatar Grand Prix

Verstappen will lead the Mercedes duo of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton at the end of the one-hour qualifying session, which is divided into three sections, one each in the first and second quarters. Five cars were eliminated, followed by a penalty shootout for the top ten in the third quarter.

As this is a sprint weekend format, these practice sessions set the grid for Sunday’s race and have no impact on Saturday’s sprint race.

Qatar Grand Prix qualifying results: Verstappen overtakes Russell to take pole position

What happened in Qatar Grand Prix Season 1?

Verstappen initially set the pace at 1m26.884s and was quickly overtaken by Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin with 1m26.715s and then Charles Leclerc’s 1m26.444s in the Ferrari. , then Lando Norris, but the McLaren driver’s 1m26.043s was deleted for being off track. limit.

Track conditions improved throughout and Alonso regained first place with a time of 1m25.685s on the first set of tyres.

Leclerc reset the standard for the second set of tires with a time of 1m25.452s, before Norris took first place with a time of 1m25.131s and Verstappen beat him with a time of 1m25.007s. got them.

Those who fell at the first hurdle were Logan Sargent (0.092 seconds ahead of Williams teammate Alex Albon on the final lap), Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), Liam Lawson (AlphaTauri), Kevin Magnussen (Haas) and Guanyu Zhou (Alfa Romeo).

Qatar Grand Prix Season 1 results: Norris fastest and Verstappen fastest

What happened in the second quarter of the Qatar Grand Prix?

Verstappen set an initial pace of 1’24.758″ (which was ominous on old rubber) until Oscar Piastri’s new-tyre McLaren and Norris (Norris) pushed him back to third.

After a fierce battle with Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz for track position, Verstappen improved his time to 1m24.483s to regain first place, two tenths ahead of Norris. At the last minute, Hamilton took first place with a tenth advantage.

Those eliminated at this time were Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri), the troubled Sainz, Sergio Perez (whose Red Bull car was canceled for one lap), Albon and Nico Hulkenberg (Haas).

Qatar Grand Prix Season 2 results: Hamilton fastest ahead of Verstappen

What happened in Qatar Grand Prix Season 3?

In the first run, Verstappen set the pace at 1m23.778s, half a second ahead of Hamilton, as Norris lost his first lap due to track restrictions.

In the final sprint, Verstappen ran off the track and jumped into the pits. Norris jumped into second place, three tenths behind, but lost lap time after running off the track at Turn 10.

Russell inherited the front row position ahead of Piastri, but Piastri was then also track restricted, which allowed Hamilton, Alonso and Leclerc to move ahead of him.

Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon’s Alpine, Valtteri Bottas (Alfa) and a bruised Norris round out the top ten .

Qatar Grand Prix Season 3 Results: Verstappen takes pole position