Verstappen pips Russell to end pole drought but faces stewards’ investigation · RaceFans

Max Verstappen took his first grand prix pole position for six months by beating George Russell by five hundredths of a second in Qatar.

The world champion completed a remarkable turnaround for Red Bull from Saturday’s earlier sprint race, denying Russell to secure his first pole since June. However he is under investigation for failing to obey the maximum delta time.

Russell will start alongside him on the front row ahead of the two McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

Q1

After the sprint race, parc ferme restrictions had been lifted to allow teams to change the set up of their cars. But once they left the garage in Q1, they were restricted once again.

Kevin Magnussen was the first driver to complete a flying lap and then became the first to have a time deleted for exceeding track limits at turn one. Both Williams drivers Alexander Albon and Franco Colapinto also lost their first push laps for running outside of the white lines.

Sprint race front row starter George Russell set the best lap of the initial runs with a 1’21.519, a few hundredths of a second ahead of Lando Norris. Carlos Sainz Jnr jumped up into second place, milliseconds ahead of Norris, before Russell improved his own best time by two tenths.

Just as in the first phase of sprint qualifying on Friday, Sergio Perez was uncomfortably close to the drop zone as the chequered flag flew at the end of the session. However, this time, he earned progression into Q2 by making a significant improvement on his final lap to go safe in eighth.

Yuki Tsunoda also improved with his last effort, ensuring he would make it through in 16th. That meant that Alexander Albon’s qualifying had come to an end, as had Liam Lawson’s in 17th, the second RB driver blaming a slow Aston Martin ahead of him which he was told belonged to Lance Stroll. Nico Hulkenberg could not follow team mate Kevin Magnussen into the second session, while Franco Colapinto and Esteban Ocon were also knocked out.

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Q1 result

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Q2

The two Mercedes, two Ferraris, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris all headed out on used soft tyres for their first runs in Q2, while Perez and Oscar Piastri had the benefit of new tyres.

Verstappen was quickest after the first flying laps, less than a tenth quicker than Russell with Piastri slightly ahead of his team mate with those fresh softs. Perez was three tenths slower than his team mate on his fresh soft tyres, though he didn’t help his cause by running over the gravel at turn four on his out-lap.

Heading into the final minutes, Magnussen was sitting in the drop zone alongside the two Sauber drivers, as well as the two Aston Martins. All bar one of the 11 drivers on circuit improved their times on their final laps at the chequered flag, only Pierre Gasly failing to do so. As a result, he was eliminated in 11th place, missing out by just 0.012s. Perez scraped through by that narrow margin, making amends for his first round exit yeaterday.

Both Saubers were also knocked out with Zhou Guanyu ahead of team mate Valtteri Bottas. Yuki Tsunoda was the next driver out in 14th, while Lance Stroll could not match team mate Fernando Alonso and was eliminated in 15th.

The stewards announced Sainz will be investigated after qualifying after he was released in front of Hamilton when the pair headed out on their second runs in the session.

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Q2 result

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Q3

The final phase of qualifying would see every millisecond count. As a result, getting a tow down the main straight with the headwind would be essential.

Russell and Piastri appeared to compromise each other’s start to their laps as they backed off exiting the final corner, not wanting to provide a slipstream for the other. When Russell eventually posted his first lap, it was good enough for provisional pole position with a 1’20.575, half a tenth ahead of Verstappen. Norris ran wide at turn four on his first attempt, putting him under pressure for his final run.

In the final minutes, drivers headed out for multiple warm up laps, leading to a build up of tension until the final runs. As Russell pushed to build up his tyre temperatures on his preparation lap, he had to slow to avoid Verstappen at turn 14 who was running at a much slower pace.

Verstappen’s final flying lap was the best of all, posting a 1’20.520 to secure pole by just half a tenth. Russell improved on his time but it was not enough to beat Verstappen, having to settle for a front row start for the second day running.

The Mercedes driver complained afterwards Verstappen held him up during his final preparation lap and the stewards announced afterwards they were investigating the pole winner for failing to adhere to the maximum delta time. Perez and Tsunoda were given reprimands for the same infringement after the sprint race qualifying session.

Norris will start alongside McLaren team mate Piastri on the second row, with Leclerc just ahead of Hamilton and Sainz seventh. Alonso qualified eighth, beating Perez and Magnussen, who will start from tenth.

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Q3 result