Lando Norris has secured top spot in the Qatar Sprint with a strong performance at the Losail International Circuit. George Russell and Oscar Piastri in 2nd and 3rd, only Verstappen sixth.
Lando Norris has secured the best start to the sprint race in Qatar (November 30, 3:00 pm European time): the 24-year-old Briton takes his third pole position (after Brazil 2023 and China 2024 ).
Current World Championship runner-up Norris seems to be pleased with himself and the world at the Losail International Circuit, which opened in 2004. He reports this about his racing qualities: “We have a lot of fast corners here for a quick series, it feels like the fastest song of the whole year.”
“It was a good qualifying today, especially after a disappointing race in Las Vegas. The lap was really good, I made a lot of mistakes in the second test. Our goal was to get both cars to the front, and we almost achieved that.”
“We have a completely different situation than a year ago. It was humid and hot in 2023, this time it is very cold but there is a lot of wind. And the train creates a lot more traction. That makes it physically more difficult.”
«It is not easy to get a good round; because of the traffic and also because of the warm-up phase of the tires. You have to build trust gradually. But everything went well and we were able to improve the setup in qualifying.
“The goal of Saturday’s race is clear – we want two victories and thus extend our lead in the World Championship. It will not be easy because, like in Vegas, Mercedes is very fast and we will certainly not wipe out Ferrari.”
Here’s how the sprint qualifying went
As a reminder: There is no training in first class that is more intense than qualifying for a run. The three regular sections Q1, Q2 and Q3 last only 12, 10 and 8 minutes (GP qualifying: 18, 15 and 12 minutes). Each round must be perfect, there is no room for mistakes.
Q1 started at 18.4 degrees (the race track was 21.8 degrees), with all cars on medium hard tires according to regulations, in Q2 also on medium hard rollers, and in Q3 only on soft Pirelli.
Leclerc’s best early time ahead of Verstappen, then – wait, what? – Valtteri Bottas. Finn made his tires work very well.
Lando Norris took command, the second half ahead of Leclerc, the track developed rapidly, the order changed almost every second.
From after Q1: Perez (again!), Tsunoda, Ocon, Zhou and Colapinto.
Top ten: Norris, Sainz, Russell, Verstappen, Hamilton, Leclerc, Piastri, Alonso, Bottas (still running) and Stroll.
Before the second qualifying session, Verstappen asked for a front wing change his car was too low. Leclerc took the lead, just ahead of Norris and Verstappen, then Piastri, winner of the Qatar 2023 race, took the lead.
Verstappen then drove at the same pace as Piastri before Las Vegas winner George Russell moved into P1, but it wasn’t long before Norris was back in front. Piastri lost his time because he was off the track for 15 years.
From Q2: Alonso, Albon, Bottas, Stroll and Magnussen.
Top ten and therefore in Q3: Norris, Russell, Piastri, Hamilton, Verstappen, Sainz, Leclerc, Hülkenberg, Gasly and Lawson.
In the final qualifying session, Leclerc took first place before being overtaken by Norris, then Piastri in second, ahead of Russell, Verstappen and Hamilton. Sainz damaged his lap, and Leclerc also had a bad slide.
Russell moved between the two McLarens, but Norris remained in front.
Sprint Qualifying, Qatar
01. Lando Norris (GB), McLaren, 1:21.012 minutes
02. George Russell (GB), Mercedes, 1:21,075
03. Oscar Piastri (AUS), McLaren, 1:21.171
04. Carlos Sainz (L), Ferrari, 1:21.281
05. Charles Leclerc (MC), Ferrari, 1:21,308
06. Max Verstappen (NL), Red Bull Racing, 1:21,315
07. Lewis Hamilton (GB), Mercedes, 1:21,474
08. Pierre Gasly (F), Alpine, 1:21,978
09. Nico Hulkenberg (D), Haas, 1:22.088
10. Liam Lawson (NZ), Racing Bulls, 1:22,577
11. Fernando Alonso (E), Aston Martin, 1:22.433
12. Alex Albon (T), Williams, 1:22,526
13. Valtteri Bottas (FIN), Sauber, 1:22.538
14. Lance Stroll (CDN), Aston Martin, 1:22,599
15. Kevin Magnussen (DK), Haas, 1:22.738
16. Sergio Pérez (MEX), Red Bull Racing, 1:22,718
17. Yuki Tsunoda (J), Racing Bulls, 1:22,722
18. Stephen Ocon (F), Alpine, 1:22.906
19. Guanyu Zhou (RCH), Sauber, 1:22,948
20. Franco Colapinto (RA), Williams, 1:23.423
On the pole for the race
Silverstone 2021 – Lewis Hamilton (GB), Mercedes
Monza 2021 – Valtteri Bottas (FIN), Mercedes
Interlagos 2021 – Max Verstappen (NL), Red Bull Racing
Imola 2022 – Max Verstappen (NL), Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Ring 2022 – Max Verstappen (NL), Red Bull Racing
Interlagos 2022 – Kevin Magnussen (DK), Haas
Baku 2023 – Charles Leclerc (MC), Ferrari
Spielberg 2023 – Max Verstappen (NL), Red Bull Racing
Francorchamps 2023 – Max Verstappen (NL), Red Bull Racing
Qatar 2023 – Oscar Piastri (AUS), McLaren-Mercedes
Austin 2023 – Max Verstappen (NL), Red Bull Racing
Interlagos 2023 – Lando Norris (GB), McLaren
Shanghai 2024 – Lando Norris (GB), McLaren
Miami 2024 – Max Verstappen (NL), Red Bull Racing
Spielberg 2024 – Max Verstappen (NL), Red Bull Racing
Austin 2024 – Max Verstappen (NL), Red Bull Racing
Interlagos 2024 – Oscar Piastri (AUS), McLaren
From 2024 – Lando Norris (GB), McLaren
