2023-10-06 18:02:00
It’s already time for qualifying for the Qatar F1 Grand Prix, on the Losail circuit. Night round of the championship, it made its return this weekend after a first edition two years ago, at the end of 2021.
Since we are in a weekend with a Sprint format, qualifying arrives after a single free session, contested this afternoon and dominated by Max Verstappen, ahead of the Ferrari drivers, Carlos Sainz then Charles Leclerc.
The track is still very evolving since it was full of sand when the EL started. The cars cleaned it up somewhat, but we saw that it was still very tricky at the end of the session, when the small errors multiplied.
Q1 – 18 minutes
Sergio was the first to set a time of 1’28″495, quickly beaten by Max Verstappen in 1’26″884. Valtteri Bottas slotted in between the two Red Bulls, while Liam Lawson positioned himself fifth.
Fernando Alonso took the best time in 1’26″715, while Yuki Tsunoda placed fourth. Esteban Ocon took this place ahead of Carlos Sainz and Logan Sargeant, before Pierre Gasly placed second.
Charles Leclerc set the best time in 1’26″444 before being beaten by Lando Norris, but the McLaren F1 driver saw his time canceled for failure to respect track limits. Oscar Piastri set the third time.
Lawson moved up to 12th, and Verstappen moved up to second, 0.044 behind Leclerc. Lance Stroll set the ninth time, and Alex Albon the seventh. The track was improving minute after minute, and Yuki Tsunoda set the fifth time , and Sargeant the seventh.
Alonso took the best time in 1’25″685, and Ocon placed second, seven tenths behind his former teammate. Leclerc placed second but lost his time for not having respected the track limits.
Ocon complained of an abnormally high temperature in his Alpine, while Nico Hülkenberg set the 12th provisional time. Piastri saw his time canceled, while Valtteri Bottas set the second time. But he fell two positions as the Mercedes of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton got in the way.
Leclerc took the lead again in 1’25″452, and Pérez moved up to fourth place. Norris then took the best time in 1’25″131, and Lawson moved up to 13th. Sargeant moved up to eighth.
Sainz took fifth position, and Alonso moved up to second, 0″092 behind Norris. Gasly and Ocon moved up to sixth and seventh place, Piastri to fourth, and Verstappen took the lead in 1’25″007. Albon only took 15th place, just behind Sargeant.
The Haas drivers were staggered to have a clear track, and Kevin Magnussen positioned himself 17th. Bottas moved up to 11th, and Lawson to 16th. Hülkenberg took ninth provisional position, while Stroll was unable to do better than 17th. Albon managed to pass Sargeant by less than a tenth.
Those eliminated were Sargeant, Stroll, Lawson, Magnussen and Zhou.
Q2 – 15 minutes
Hamilton, Piastri, Tsunoda and Lawson are under investigation for driving too slowly between the two Safety Car lines. Their case will be judged after the session, even if it never led to a penalty this year.
Piastri was the first to set a time of 1’25″745, and Sainz was placed just behind. But Leclerc quickly beat the Australian with a 1’25″348. Gasly took the best time in 1’25″218.
Verstappen then took the best time in 1’24″758, and Russell took second place by two tenths. Hamilton placed third just ahead of Gasly. Ocon was positioned ninth, and Albon tenth.
Piastri took the best time in 1’24″724, beaten by his teammate Norris in 1’24″685. Leclerc improved with fifth time, while Sainz was still 14th after missing a fast attempt.
Sainz hampered Verstappen before resuming a fast lap, and the Dutchman expressed his dissatisfaction. Verstappen then regained first position in 1’24″483. Sainz only took ninth fastest, and Pérez was tenth but improving.
Hülkenberg set the 11th time and Bottas the ninth. Pérez then took the ninth time, and Tsunoda the 11th time. Ocon took fifth place, and Russell fourth. Hamilton took the lead in 1’24″381, and Albon missed out. Pérez saw his time canceled and fell back to 13th! This caused the elimination of two leading cars!
Those eliminated were in fact Tsunoda, Sainz, Pérez, Albon and Hülkenberg.
Q3 – 12 minutes
Bottas was the first to set a time of 1’25″586. Leclerc aborted his first attempt after a mistake, and Alonso beat Bottas in 1’25″257. Norris beat the Spaniard in 1’24″088, but the Briton’s time was canceled!
Piastri finished with the best time in 1’24″540, and Ocon was second. Verstappen beat the Australian in 1’23″778.
Russell then took second fastest time, six tenths behind Verstappen, and Hamilton moved back to within half a second of the Dutchman. Leclerc set the fifth fastest time, ensuring not to make any mistakes.
Bottas moved up to sixth while Verstappen did not improve and returned to the pits before the end of his second lap. Leclerc moved up to fourth and Alonso took third place.
Norris finished with the second fastest time, three tenths behind the Red Bull driver. Ocon moved up to eighth, and Russell placed third. Piastri took the fourth time, and Gasly the eighth, just ahead of Ocon.
Verstappen therefore takes pole position ahead of Norris, then Russell and Piastri. Hamilton and Alonso will share the third row in front of Leclerc and Gasly, then Ocon and Bottas.
Dramatic twist just after the session ended! We saw Norris sulking despite his second place, and for good reason: he also saw his second run canceled for not respecting the track limits!
This gives Russell the front row of the grid, ahead of Piastri, who will share the second row with Hamilton. Alonso will start on the clean side in fifth place ahead of Leclerc, while the Alpine of Gasly and Ocon will be on the fourth row. Bottas and Norris will be placed on the fifth row of the grid.
Second twist a few minutes after arrival! Piastri also saw his lap canceled and fell back to sixth place. Hamilton and Alonso will therefore be on the second row behind Verstappen and Russell, while Leclerc and Piastri will be on the third row.
Pos.PiloteVoitureTemps Q1Temps Q2Temps Q3 01 Max Verstappen Red Bull Honda RBPT RB19 1:25.007 1:24.483 1:23.778 02 George Russell Mercedes W14 1:25.334 1:24.827 1:24.219 03 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes W14 1:26.076 1:24.381 1: 24.305 04 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin Mercedes AMR23 1:25.223 1:25.214 1:24.369 05 Charles Leclerc Ferrari SF-23 1:25.452 1:25.079 1:24.424 06 Oscar Piastri McLaren Mercedes MCL60 1:25.266 1:24.724 1: 24,540 07 Pierre Gasly Alpine Renault A523 1:25.566 1:24.918 1:24.553 08 Esteban Ocon Alpine Renault A523 1:25.711 1:24.928 1:24.763 09 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo Ferrari C43 1:26.038 1:25.297 1:25.058 10 Lando Norris McLaren Mercedes MCL60 1:25.131 1:24.685 – :—.— — —————- ————— —– —– ———- ———- 11 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri Honda RBPT AT04 1:26.058 1:25.301 12 Carlos Sainz Ferrari SF-23 1:25.808 1: 25,328 13 Sergio Pérez Red Bull Honda RBPT RB19 1:25,991 1:25,432 14 Alex Albon Williams Mercedes FW45 1:26,118 1:25,707 15 Nico Hülkenberg Haas Ferrari VF-23 1:25,904 1:25,783 — ——– ——– ————— ———- ———- ——- — 16 Logan Sargeant Williams Mercedes FW45 1:26.210 17 Lance Stroll Aston Martin Mercedes AMR23 1:26.345 18 Liam Lawson AlphaTauri Honda RBPT AT04 1:26.635 19 Kevin Magnussen Haas Ferrari VF-23 1:27.046 20 Guanyu Zhou Alfa Romeo Ferrari C43 1:27,432
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