Mathieu Warnier, Media365, published on Saturday November 30, 2024 at 8:15 p.m.
For the first time since Austria, Max Verstappen took pole position for the Qatar Grand Prix. The Dutchman was able to get ahead of George Russell and Lando Norris on the track but, for having hampered the Mercedes driver, he received a penalty which put him back on the starting grid.
Max Verstappen had not experienced this since the Austrian Grand Prix. Twelve races and five months later, the quadruple world champion has rediscovered the sensation of achieving pole position at the Qatar Grand Prix. But it was only fleeting. Almost transparent during the sprint contested earlier this Saturday, in which he took eighth place, the Red Bull Racing driver found the solutions to gain performance over a lap. With a best time of 1'20''520, he pushed back George Russell by 55 thousandths. As during qualifying for the sprint this Friday, the Mercedes driver saw pole position slip away from him with a tiny gap on the Losail circuit. However, this Dutchman's result was likely to be called into question by the stewards of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Indeed, during Q3, we could see Max Verstappen hindering George Russell, who was then in a fast lap.
Verstappen finally penalized
Summoned in the evening to explain himself, the Dutchman was not able to convince the commissioners. The latter then sanctioned him by moving back one place on the starting grid of the race. Consequently, it is George Russell who will start from pole position this Sunday at Losail. In the fight for the constructors' world championship title, McLaren once again takes the lead over Ferrari. Indeed, Lando Norris set the third time, 252 thousandths behind Max Verstappen despite very visible difficulties in putting his tires in the correct operating window. The Briton is followed by his teammate Oscar Piastri for a second row monopolized by the team based in Woking. On the Maranello side, after limiting the damage during the sprint, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr gave everything but the understeer of their car was too significant a handicap to aim for one of the first two rows.
Ferrari in difficulty against McLaren
The Monegasque could not do better than the fifth time when the Spaniard had to be content with the seventh time. Lewis Hamilton, who admitted this Friday his difficulties in performing well in qualifying, inserted himself between the two Ferraris but conceded four tenths of a second to his teammate. Fernando Alonso, Sergio Pérez and Kevin Magnussen complete the Top 10 of this qualifying session. On the Alpine side, Pierre Gasly was unable to advance to Q3, setting the 11th time during the second segment of this session. Esteban Ocon, who has to deal with less advanced parts than those installed on his teammate's car, was severely lacking in performance. The Norman will have to start from the 20th and last place on the starting grid, sharing the tenth row with Franco Colapinto. With 57 laps of a circuit as physical as that of Losail, the Qatar Grand Prix promises to be a real physical challenge for the drivers.
FORMULA 1 – QATAR GRAND PRIX / QUALIFYING
Q3 ranking – Saturday November 30, 2024
1- Max Verstappen (PBS/Red Bull Racing) en 1’20”520 *
2- George Russell (GBR/Mercedes) at 0''055
3- Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren) at 0''252
4- Oscar Piastri (AUS/McLaren) at 0''309
5- Charles Leclerc (MCO/Ferrari) at 0”332
6- Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) at 0”491
7- Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP/Ferrari) at 0''521
8- Fernando Alonso (ESP/Aston Martin) in 0''731
9- Sergio Pérez (MEX/Red Bull Racing) at 0''905
10- Kevin Magnussen (DAN/Haas) at 0”980
* Penalized for blocking George Russell, Max Verstappen will move back one place on the starting grid.
