Norris claims pole position for sprint race as Russell splits the McLarens · RaceFans

Lando Norris took pole position for Saturday’s sprint race in Losail ahead of George Russell and Oscar Piastri.

Norris did not need to improve with his second push lap in the final phase of sprint qualifying as he was still ahead of the rest of the field even after abandoning his last run.

Russell will start second ahead of Piastri and the two Ferraris of Carlos Sainz Jnr and Charles Leclerc with Max Verstappen sixth on the grid.

SQ1

Conditions were slightly cooler than the earlier practice session when the first phase of sprint qualifying began under the lights in Losail.

All drivers headed out on track on medium tyres, a unique rule for the first two phases of sprint qualifying. After setting the quickest time in practice, Charles Leclerc set the early best time with a 1’22.156, a tenth of a second ahead of team mate Carlos Sainz Jnr.

Lando Norris jumped ahead to go quickest, with Sainz also improving to go second. George Russell moved up into third place, while Max Verstappen went fourth.

However, Verstappen’s Red Bull team mate Sergio Perez needed to find time on his final lap. But out of phase with the cars around him, he had to slow significantly to find space to start his final push lap, having to fend off Leclerc into turn one as he did so.

Perez improved but only to 13th. With Liam Lawson and Alexander Albon finding time with their final laps, Perez fell to 16th and was out at the first hurdle. Yuki Tsunoda was also knocked out in 17th, with Esteban Ocon, Zhou Guanyu and Franco Colapinto also failing to make it through.

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SQ1 result

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SQ2

Drivers were still compelled to run the mediums for the second stage of sprint qualifying. Leclerc was once again the early pacesetter with a 1’22.130, until that was beaten by less than a tenth by Oscar Piastri.

Russell enjoyed a brief stint at the top of the times before Lando Norris replaced him with a time two tenths faster. Piastri had a time deleted for exceeding track limits at turn two, but went faster on his next lap to make up for the error.

The competition to reach the final stage of sprint qualifying was especially fierce, with half a tenth covering eighth to 15th at the end of the session. Liam Lawson narrowly squeezed through into SQ3 in tenth, denying Fernando Alonso by half a tenth.

Alexander Albon’s session also came to an end in 12th, with Valtteri Bottas knocked out 13th. Lance Stroll and Kevin Magnussen were also knocked out, slower than their respective team mates.

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SQ2 result

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SQ3

For the final phase of sprint qualifying, drivers had to run on soft tyres, allowing them to finally show their true pace.

For the third consecutive session, Leclerc was quickest early on, but his lap was easily beaten by both McLarens, both Mercedes and Verstappen. Norris was on provisional pole after his initial push lap, a tenth ahead of team mate Piastri. Russell was third, with Verstappen between the two Mercedes drivers.

Norris abandoned his second and final flying lap attempt in the final sector as he was not on course to improve. However, his initial push lap was still good enough to secure him pole position for Saturday’s sprint race, Piastri falling short with his final effort.

That allowed Russell to split the two McLarens with a lap half a tenth off from Norris’s best, with Piastri another tenth behind the Mercedes in third. The two Ferraris of Sainz and Leclerc were fourth and fifth, with Verstappen having to settle for sixth ahead of Lewis Hamilton.

Pierre Gasly took eighth, with Nico Hulkenberg promoted to ninth after Lawson lost his best time for exceeding track limits at turn six.

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SQ3 result

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