DOHA: Defending F1 champion Max Verstappen stormed to pole position at the Qatar Grand Prix here at the Lusail International Circuit on Friday.
Verstappen clocked a stunning time of 1m 23.778s on his first – and only – lap in Q3, to beat Russell, in second, by 0.441s, and Hamilton in third, by over half a second – although he aborted his final lap in Q3 after sliding in the first sector.
Mercedes drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton were promoted to second and third after penalties for McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
Norris and Piastri were second and fourth, sandwiching Russell, but lost their times for exceeding track limits.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso starts fourth.
Yuki Tsunoda missed out on a place in Q3 by just 0.004s to Bottas, and will start Sunday’s race for AlphaTauri in 11th, with the Japanese racer set to line up on the grid alongside Carlos Sainz, who suffered a shock Q2 exit for Ferrari.
Sergio Perez, who had his fastest time deleted for exceeding track limits, will start in 13th for Red Bull – on a weekend where he could deny his team mate Verstappen the championship. Alex Albon wound up 14th for Williams after running wide on his final lap in Q2, with Nico Hulkenberg 15th for Haas.
Logan Sargeant narrowly missed out on a place in Q2 thanks to Albon, who knocked him out with his final lap in Q1. This leaves the Williams rookie in 16th for Sunday’s race, ahead of the visibly frustrated Lance Stroll in 17th. (Formula1.com)
