The two McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri emerged victorious over their Constructors rivals Ferrari in the F1 Sprint Quali session at the 2024 Qatar GP.
While the two posted less-than-perfect final flying laps, Norris’ P1 and Piastri’s P3 finish saw them ahead of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, who finished in P4 and P5 respectively. Fresh off his victory last week, Mercedes’ George Russell will join fellow Brit Norris on the front row tomorrow in P2.
While newly-crowned Drivers’ Champion Max Verstappen planted his Red Bull in P6, his teammate Sergio Pérez continued to struggle, failing to make it out of SQ1 and starting tomorrow in P16.
As It Happened
SQ1
The 12-minute SQ1 session saw a lot of activity early on, with low degradation seeing the cars out on track more than expected. Good for the drivers – an hour’s practice saw the grid still learning the limits of their car, so a few more laps on an ever-evolving track would be a great help.
Kevin Magnussen was first out on a flying lap to kick off F1 Sprint Quali at the 2024 Qatar GP. The Haas set a 1:23.750, before being knocked off the top by Valtteri Bottas, who’s out of a seat next year in a stint to forget at Kick Sauber. Carlos Sainz, in the dominant car during the practice session, was having an slower start to his session, slotting in behind the Finnish driver in P2.
The first stint of flying laps saw the McLaren of Lando Norris back at the top of the board, looking to secure a solid weekend for the Woking team which could see them secure the Constructors Championship. However, the grid were biding their time; the laps which would count would come later in the session on a track that would continue to evolve.
Traffic on Track
With three minutes of the session remaining, banker laps were set and cool-down laps were causing drivers to battle for prime position on the dusty Qatar track. A queue had formed at Turn 16 with a minute remaining, drivers trying to get a bit of clean air to get them into SQ2.
The backmarkers of the season were under pressure, but the likes of the Alpines of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly and the two Aston Martins managed to secure an SQ2 appearance. However, another bad performance by Sergio Pérez in an already horrific season for the Mexican saw him out in SQ1, beaten by 0.013s by Alex Albon. Pérez appeared to be caught up in a bizarre battle with Leclerc on their respective flying laps. While the Ferrari was safely through, the Red Bull driver ultimately paid the price, plummeting down the times and out of the session.
OUT IN SQ1:
Franco Colapinto classified in 20th in SQ1, having very limited experience on track and a slew of crashes under his belt. Zhou Guanyu and Esteban Ocon qualified in P19 and P18 respectively, while Yuki Tsunoda found himself sacrificing time on his cooldown lap. The RB driver paid the price, but still qualified above Pérez in P16.
SQ2
Both the Ferrari and Haas cars were quick out the pits in SQ2, joined by Verstappen in the Red Bull. The Dutchman, who initially didn’t look to have the pace to keep up with the likes of Ferrari and McLaren this weekend, posted a 1:22.188 in his initial flying lap to sit around the top of the grid, before being bettered by Leclerc 0.058s quicker.
Piastri, looking slightly unsettled in his McLaren today, was off the track in one of his flying laps, his McLaren taking a beating on the kerbs and dust flying in the process. The Aussie’s lap time was deleted, leaving him with one more chance to move on to the SQ3 session. However, the McLaren was quick – Norris soon shot to the top of the timings 0.257s ahead of his Russell in P2. Piastri’s final lap of the session redeemed his chaotic start, taking him up to P3.
Further down the grid, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was continuing his momentum-building string of results, making it into SQ3 – a far cry from earlier in the season. It almost wasn’t the case for the Frenchman, though – he found himself caught up in traffic, making it in by the skin of his teeth.
Out in SQ2
It wasn’t such good news for the Aston Martins of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, who both found themselves out of the top ten in P11 and P14 respectively. Alonso classified P11, narrowly missing the top ten after being knocked out by RB rookie Liam Lawson. Alex Albon couldn’t get his Williams into the top ten finishing P12, followed by Valtteri Bottas and Kevin Magnussen in P13 and P15.
SQ3
Having already been caught up in traffic drama, Gasly was one of the first out in SQ3 – albeit straight into the path of Verstappen, who swerved to avoid a collision in pit lane. The McLarens of Piastri and Norris hung back in the pits, marking out a 30-second gap to the pack for optimal space. Norris was quick to make an impression, using the space to his advantage with a 1:21.012, his teammate 0.159s behind. Impressive laps from the two Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell saw them hit the top five, split by Verstappen.
The chequered flag flew and the final flying laps were completed. A couple of iffy laps from the McLarens saw Norris abandon his final lap after a trip through the gravel, and Piastri, who bettered his teammate in the first sector, couldn’t keep it up and posted an initial P2 time. Russell made it a British 1-2, snatching P2 from Piastri just 0.063s off of Pole. The Ferraris, who came into this session a favourite, came home in P4 and P5. Verstappen will start the sprint from P6, followed by Hamilton in his final races for Mercedes. Gasly and Hülkenberg finished in P8 and P9 respectively, followed by Lawson who had his lap time deleted for exceeding track limits.
The results set the scene for a vital weekend of racing for McLaren and Ferrari, who are embroiled in a showdown for the Constructors Championship. Lights out for the Sprint is tomorrow at 18:00 GMT.
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