Verstappen takes pole position in Qatar — just three points away from the World Championship title
Max Verstappen, poleman in Qatar where he can become world champion / @redbullracing
The Dutchman secures pole position and can be crowned champion as early as the sprint race. Alonso will start fourth and Sainz twelfth on the grid at a circuit that tests drivers’ endurance in extreme weather conditions.
“Yeah, my dad would do quick in these conditions” said Carlos Sainz on the radio in Qatar, referring to the conditions on the track during FP1: 38°C asphalt, wind and desert dirt on the track meant that the tyres had very little grip.
Conditions that did not seem to affect the undisputed leader of the standings, Max Verstappen, who set a time of 1'23.778 in the time trial and celebrated from the pit lane as he waited for his rivals to complete their times. The Dutchman is just three points away from a third consecutive championship, which he is likely to clinch in tomorrow’s sprint race.
It was not an easy afternoon for Ferrari as Sainz’s SF-23 suffered from oversteer problems which saw the Spaniard, who is normally more comfortable with an understeer setup, retiring in Q2. His team-mate in red, Charles Leclerc, finished fifth after several track limit penalties changed the final grid order.
The Maranello-based team will be hoping to make the most of tomorrow’s sprint day and Sunday’s race to keep pace with Mercedes in the battle for second place in the Constructors’ Championship on a circuit characterised by low-speed corners that are not well suited to the SF-23.
ALONSO PUTS STROLL ON THE ROPES
The Spaniard is back in the top five and will start fourth on Sunday, while team-mate Lance Stroll failed to make it out of Q3 and finished 17th, within two seconds of Fernando’s time.
Alonso has scored 174 points so far this season, 80 per cent of Aston Martin’s total of 221, while Stroll has scored just 74.
The data shows that the team’s success this season is almost entirely down to the Spanish driver’s results, putting serious pressure on Lance Stroll, who is being asked by the sport’s fans to prove that he deserves the job, and not just because he is the son of Aston Martin owner Lawrence Stroll, with whom he has a rolling contract.
TRACK LIMITS: A PROBLEM FOR MCLAREN
The Woking-based team’s young drivers, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, were affected by the FIA’s track limit penalties.
Norris, who had only completed one lap in Q3, dropped from second to tenth, while Piastri, who had a set lap time, moved from first to third when Norris was informed of the penalty. A few minutes later it was Naomi Schiff, the journalist that was interviewing the Australian for his third place, who informed him live on air of his penalty, which will put him in sixth place for Sunday.
These actions have reopened the debate about how and when the FIA communicates such penalties, which at the moment is usually long after the drivers have left their cars.
Both Mercedes drivers, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, benefited from the McLaren penalties and will start second and third respectively in Sunday’s race.
SPRINT FORMAT IN QATAR
This weekend sees the fourth of the season’s six sprint format races. This format is characterised by the fact that there is only one free race instead of three and qualifying for Sunday takes place on Friday. A mini-qualifier is added on Saturday for a short 100km race on the same day, with the top eight riders scoring points in addition to the points scored in the standard race on Sunday.
