Oscar Piastri wins Sprint Shootout in Qatar

Clearly. Dry. Air +35C, highway +42C

As the sprint weekend progresses, with one qualifying session followed by another, the differences are especially noticeable in the evening stages.

In Qatar, qualifying took place on Friday at 8pm local time, when the sun had set, the temperature had dropped and the tarmac had been cleared of wind-blown sand, and on Saturday the Sprint Shootout started at 4.20pm – the track was hot and smooth.

On Friday, Max Verstappen showed the best time during free practice and qualifying, beating his nearest rivals by half a second. One of the most important factors was the accuracy in respecting the circuit boundaries; many were denied their best laps on Friday, including both McLaren drivers and Sergio Perez.

For the sixth time this year (and the second in a row), the teams received a “hard” trio of compounds – C1, C2 and C3 as Hard, Medium and Soft, which was justified by the high temperature, but everyone complained about the lack of grip on tires that are too hard, and during the day. A more serious problem arose on Saturday.

After inspecting the tire sets used for more than twenty laps on Friday, Pirelli discovered damage apparently related to an active attack on the curbs in Turns 12 and 13. The off-track restrictions in Turns 12-13 were revised: the The border was moved 80 centimeters away from the problem curbs and an extra 10-minute training session was organized for the riders to allow them to adapt. As a result, qualifying for the sprint started 20 minutes later than planned (4:20 PM local time).

The training went smoothly. In turns 12-13 the track became narrower and slower. The drivers went a few laps without much attack, but Sargent went off track and knocked over a foam marker. Gasly locked the tires while braking in turn eight, Verstappen flew off the track – all without visible consequences for the cars.

Verstappen showed the best time in the short training session and completed a lap in 1:27.085.

In the first 12 minute part of the Sprint Shootout everyone went to Medium. Many had a lap canceled due to exceeding the limits of the track, Stroll and Albon flew off the track at the end of the session, Russell showed the best time – 1:25.413, and Stroll, Albon, Tsunoda, Magnussen and Sargent fell out of the fight.

In the second 10 minute session everyone is back on Medium. The cars were sliding, the curbs were designed for MotoGP, the riders couldn’t see them from the cockpit and were constantly driving off the track. Those inferior in speed had to take more risks, and the stewards mercilessly canceled the result: 31 laps in half an hour.

Lando Norris led the protocol and completed a lap in 1:24.947. Gasly, Hamilton, Bottas, Lawson and Zhou did not qualify for the final.

In the eight-minute finale everyone went to Soft. Russell, Alonso and Hulkenberg missed the first attempt, with Norris setting the best time of 1:24.536.

On the second attempt, Piastri showed the best time – in Saturday’s sprint, McLaren drivers will occupy the entire front row. Verstappen and Russell start from second place, Sainz and Leclerc start from third place.

Sprint Shootout Results