Max Verstappen took his 10th pole of the season in Qatar. Valtteri Bottas again made it to Q3 and finished ninth.
Max Verstappen took pole position in Qatar for the tenth time this season. In qualifying for the race on Sunday, the Dutchman, who had already recorded the best time in the only practice session on Friday, relegated the competition once again to the last places.
Fans saw a show of power from Verstappen. The 26-year-old, who could actually clinch the title in Saturday’s sprint race, took more than four tenths from second-placed Mercedes driver George Russell over the 5.4km route.
Alfa Romeo with a glimmer of hope
Valtteri Bottas had a sense of accomplishment with the struggling Alfa Romeo team recently: with Sergio Perez’s time in the second qualifying section disallowed because he exceeded the track limit, the Finn reached Q3 for the first time since the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungarian Grand Prix. End of July. Bottas will start the race on Sunday from ninth position. Meanwhile, Guanyu Zhou, who finished twentieth, suffered another setback.
Perez wasn’t the only one who fell victim to the “track limits” on Friday. For example, McLaren drivers Lando Norris (UK) and Oscar Piastri (AUS) also faced difficulties on the winding and demanding road, which was originally designed for motorcycle racing. Both drivers had their times canceled in the deciding stage because they went off the track. Norris dropped from second to 10th, and Piastri dropped one place to fifth.
Mercedes benefits
The two Mercedes drivers benefited from this negligence. Thanks to Norris moving back, Russell started from the front row, and Lewis Hamilton inherited third place. This puts the racing team in a promising position to consolidate second place in the Constructors’ Championship.
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