The Formula One Qatar Grand Prix got underway on Friday at the Lusail International Circuit outside of Doha, Qatar. The race on the 5.419km circuit is the second for F1 at Qatar with the inaugural Grand Prix occurring in 2021.
This weekend F1 will use the Sprint format for the fourth time this season. In the format, Friday consists of a practice session and then the qualifying session for Sunday's Grand Prix. Saturday's format includes qualifying for a Saturday night Sprint race (the Shootout) and then the Sprint race itself in which teams can gain points.
There are two more sprint events to come before the end of the season: the United States Grand Prix in Austin and the São Paulo Grand Prix at Interlagos.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen qualified on the pole for Sunday's Qatar Grand Prix, completing the circuit almost a half second quicker than the Silver Arrow of Mercedes Racing's George Russell and over a half-second faster than Russell's teammate, Lewis Hamilton.
"We're very pleased with P2 and P3 on the grid for Sunday. Especially after a tough weekend in Japan. Of course we benefited from McLaren's misfortune," said Andrew Shovlin, Mercedes Trackside Engineering Director. "However, neither George or Lewis lost a lap to track limits throughout the entire qualifying session and that is important. We have to give them credit for keeping it clean."
McLaren's Lando Norris had the second quickest lap time of the session deleted for exceeding track limits.
Fernando Alonzo will start his Aston Martin behind Russell on the outside of Row Two. Row Three is comprised of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in P5 and McLaren's red-hot rookie driver, Oscar Piastri, in P6.
The Alpine's of Pierre Gasly (P7) and Esteban Ocon (P8) make Row Four.
"I am very happy to be back in Q3. Right from the start of the day, I have had a good feeling with the car and felt in a good place where I feel I could push the car to the limit straight away," said Gasly. "I put in a strong lap in Q2, same in Q3 and in the end it's put us in a solid spot on the grid for Sunday."
For the 7th time this season, Red Bull's Sergio Perez, who is second in points, failed to get out of Q2 due to a deleted lap time which would have put the Mexican native into the final qualifying session. Perez will start 13th on Sunday which makes it that much easier for his Red Bull teammate to clinch the World Championship at Qatar this weekend. There is a possibility Verstappen could, in fact, clinch the title on Saturday.
For the Qatar Grand Prix, teams will have C1 as P Zero White hard, C2 as P Zero Yellow medium, and C3 as P Zero Red soft; the hardest compounds Pirelli offers.
"In terms of severity, Losail is a very challenging circuit for tyres, similar to Silverstone and Suzuka. So it's no coincidence that the compounds chosen are the same: C1, C2, and C3," said Pirelli's Mario Isola.
Qualifying Results
Pos Driver Team Time Gap
1 Verstappen Red Bull 1:23.778 144.695 mph
2 Russell Mercedes 1:24.219 0.441
3 Hamilton Mercedes 1:24.305 0.527
4 Alonso Aston Martin 1:24.369 0.591
5 Leclerc Ferrari 1:24.424 0.646
6 Piastri McLaren 1:24.540 0.762
7 Gasly Alpine 1:24.553 0.775
8 Ocon Alpine 1:24.763 0.985
9 Bottas Alfa Romeo 1:25.058 1.280
10 Norris McLaren No Time -
11 Tsunoda AlphaTauri 1:25.301 -
12 Sainz Ferrari 1:25.328 -
13 Perez Red Bull 1:25.462 -
14 Albon Williams 1:25.707 -
15 Hulkenberg Haas 1:25.783 -
16 Sargeant Williams 1:26.210 -
17 Stroll Aston Martin 1:26.345 -
18 Lawson AlphaTauri 1:26.635 -
19 Magnussen Haas 1:27.046 -
20 Zhou Alfa Romeo 1:27.432 -
Practice Results
Pos Driver Team Time Gap
1 Verstappen Red Bull 1:27.428 138.654 mph
2 Sainz Ferrari 1:27.762 0.334
3 Leclerc Ferrari 1:27.909 0.481
4 Alonso Aston Martin 1:27.919 0.491
5 Perez Red Bull 1:28.016 0.588
6 Tsunoda AlphaTauri 1:28.027 0.599
7 Hulkenberg Haas 1:28.171 0.743
8 Russell Mercedes 1:28.336 0.908
9 Piastri McLaren 1:28.380 0.952
10 Norris McLaren 1:28.441 1.013
11 Sargeant Williams 1:28.550 1.122
12 Albon Williams 1:28.590 1.162
13 Hamilton Mercedes 1:28.679 1.251
14 Stroll Aston Martin 1:28.690 1.262
15 Ocon Alpine 1:28.732 1.304
16 Gasly Alpine 1:28.821 1.393
17 Bottas Alfa Romeo 1:29.041 1.613
18 Zhou Alfa Romeo 1:29.106 1.678
19 Lawson AlphaTauri 1:29.238 1.810
20 Magnussen Haas 1:29.502 2.074
(image provided by Alfa Romeo F1 Team KICK)