Verstappen wins qualifying in Qatar

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The main intrigue at the end of the 2024 season was the battle between McLaren and Ferrari for the constructors’ championship. Both teams had not won this prize for a long time, the stages became fewer and fewer and no one had a decisive lead.

It seemed that at the start of the main qualifying in Qatar the balance of power was quite clear, but the whole battle was obvious.

The McLaren drivers occupied the entire front row at the start of Saturday’s sprint and successfully pushed him to victory, surprising him with an unexpected castling at the finish as the leading Norris allowed Piastri to pass, but Lando decided “his fault to repay” for Brazil.

But the sprint only slightly increases the difference between the teams, and the main race could decide a lot – the stakes were high.

Pirelli brought the strongest compounds to the podium: C1, C2 and C3, labeled Hard, Medium and Soft.

In the first session Russell drove to Medium and returned to the pits, rolling out the equipment. The rest went straight to Soft. Ocon, Gasly and Sainz returned to the pits without completing the lap, but returned after a break.

The laps of Magnussen, Albon and Colapinto were canceled due to exceeding the boundaries of the track. After the first attempt, Russell was in the lead, completing a lap in 1:21.519.

On the second attempt, Magnussen drove wide off the track, the car bounced on the curb, but suffered no visible damage. Piastri also sprayed on gravel, but there were no accidents this weekend – the barriers are too far away.

Russell recorded 1:21.335, Norris also went faster, but his lap was canceled, after which Charles Leclerc led the protocol, but the best time still remained with Russell – 1:21.241. Albon, Lawson, Hulkenberg, Colapinto and Ocon are out.

In the second session Russell set a new benchmark of 1:21.161, but Verstappen was seven hundredths faster. Perez drove off the track and his lap was cancelled.

After changing the tires, Ferrari released Sainz just in front of Hamilton’s car, who had to brake heavily – the stewards will assess this incident after qualifying.

On the second attempt, Russell first showed the best time, then Verstappen, followed by Norris and Verstappen again with 1:20.687.

Gasly, Zhou, Bottas, Tsunoda and Stroll did not qualify for the final.

In the final Russell improved again to lead the timesheet with 1:20.575. Verstappen responded by losing four hundredths. Alonso’s lap was cancelled. Norris lost half a second in turn five and went into the pits for new tires.

In the final attempt, Verstappen and Russell battled for pole position, the rest battled for places behind.

Before the start of Russell’s fast lap, Max drove too slowly around the track and hindered his opponent. The stewards investigated the incident and fined Verstappen for the loss of one starting place.

Verstappen led the time sheet with 1:20.520, five hundredths behind him was Russell.

Max Verstappen won qualifying in Qatar to take the 41st pole position of his career, his ninth of the season – and his first since June’s stage in Spielberg.

In the race, Russell and Verstappen, who lost his position due to a penalty, share the first row of the starting field, Norris and Piastri start from second place, Leclerc and Hamilton from third place.

Qualifying results