Max Verstappen secured pole position for the Qatar Grand Prix, his first pole position since the Austrian GP. George Russell will line up alongside him on the front row.
“Yabba dabba doo, Max! That is a first official pole since Austria, well done,” Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said over the radio. “That was a mighty qualifying, well done mate.”
Qualifying looked rather different than sprint qualifying a day prior. Some drivers who performed solidly and advanced to SQ3 on Friday, like Pierre Gasly, Liam Lawson and Nico Hulkenberg, didn’t have a similar performance on Saturday, none of which made Q3. Meanwhile, others like Sergio Pérez struggled during sprint qualifying and the sprint race but advanced to Q3.
The competitive picture shifted because between the sprint race and qualifying on Saturday, the cars were out of parc fermé. Teams are allowed to make adjustments to the cars’ setups. However, there was some consistency, with both McLarens, Ferraris, and Mercedes cars (as well as Verstappen) advancing to Q3. The Dutchman had a surprising qualifying, seemingly on the hunt for pole. It contrasted his sprint performance, where he finished eighth, and he even commended the team for the turnaround over the radio: “Let’s f—ing go, guys! Well done, what a turnaround. Yes!” As for the papaya, McLaren’s sprint performance didn’t carry over, though they’ll line up ahead of the Ferraris.
All eyes likely will be on Ferrari and McLaren. After Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris finished 1-2 in the sprint race earlier on Saturday, the championship gap between McLaren and Ferrari widened slightly, as the Woking-based crew secured a combined 15 points and the Prancing Horse took nine combined points. It’s a 30-point gap with 88 points remaining this season, and McLaren needs to outscore Ferrari by 15 points during Sunday’s grand prix to secure its first constructors’ championship since 1998.
Here’s how the top 10 qualified.
- Max Verstappen
- George Russell
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Charles Leclerc
- Lewis Hamilton
- Carlos Sainz
- Fernando Alonso
- Sergio Perez
- Kevin Magnussen
Max Verstappen produces a blistering lap to go top of Q2 by three tenths 🥵
And Kevin Magnussen’s lap lands him a spot in the top 10!#F1 #QatarGP pic.twitter.com/HC2hd19hLQ
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 30, 2024
Top photo of Max Verstappen: GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images
