Dark. Dry. Air +32…31С, highway +35…34С
The stage in Qatar in 2023 was held in a format with a Saturday sprint, so the riders qualified on Friday, immediately after a single hour-long practice.
The heat, strong wind and sand that he carried onto the track made it difficult to find the optimal settings; we couldn’t really find out anything about tire wear, but these are the features of the track and this format.
In training, Max Verstappen led the protocol, several tenths ahead of the Ferrari drivers, but no one seriously attacked, without risking crashing the car on the new asphalt, slippery from sand.
In Qatar, for the sixth time this year (and the second in a row), the teams received a “hard” three compounds – C1, C2 and C3 as Hard, Medium and Soft, which was justified by the high temperature, but everyone complained about the lack of grip on too hard tires.
In the first session everyone went to Soft. As in training, a lot depended on the accuracy of the attempt – the stewards instantly canceled the lap for violating the boundaries of the track, and on slippery asphalt this was easy.
Verstappen showed the best time, completing a lap in 1:25.007; Sargent, Stroll, Lawson, Magnussen and Zhou dropped out of further competition.
Dissatisfied with yet another setback, Stroll threw the steering wheel out of the car in the pits and pushed his trainer and physiotherapist Henry Howe as he left the pits. The team did not comment on this incident.
In the second session Everyone set it to Soft again. Norris, Piastri, Leclerc and Sainz chose broken-in kits for the first attempt, the rest rode on new kits.
Once again, many riders had their time removed for violating the boundaries of the track, which affected the balance of power, but with the new direction of the race, the rules this year are very strict.
Sainz interfered with Verstappen on a fast lap, they almost collided – after qualifying, the stewards issued an official warning to Carlos.
Hamilton showed the best time, completing a lap in 1:24.381. Tsunoda, Sainz, Perez, Albon and Hulkenberg did not make it to the final.
In the final in the first attempt, Verstappen showed the best time – 1:23.728, not letting his opponents get closer than half a second. Norris had his fastest lap disallowed and returned to the pits.
In the second attempt, Verstappen and Hamilton returned to the pits without completing the fastest lap. Max’s result stood, but the McLaren drivers’ time was canceled after the end of qualifying.
Max Verstappen won qualifying in Qatar, taking the 30th pole of his career and 10th of the season. On Sunday, George Russell will share the first row with him, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso will start from second, and Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri will start from third.
Qualification results
Driver Team 1 session 2 session 3 session M Time Kr M Time Kr M Time Kr 1. M. Verstappen Red Bull 1 1:25.007 8 2 1:24.483 6
1
1:23.778
5
2. D. Russell Mercedes 5 1:25.334 9 5 1:24.827 6
2
1:24.219
6
3. L. Hamilton Mercedes 14 1:26.076 9 1 1:24.381 6
3
1:24.305
5
4. F. Alonso Aston Martin 3 1:25.223 9 9 1:25.241 6
4
1:24.369
6
5. Sh. Leclerc Ferrari 6 1:25.452 10 8 1:25.079 9
5
1:24.424
7
6. O. Piastri McLaren 4 1:25.266 9 4 1:24.724 8
6
1:24.540
6
7. P. Gasli Alpine 7 1:25.566 10 6 1:24.918 7
7
1:24.553
6
8. E.Okon Alpine 8 1:25.711 10 7 1:24.928 8
8
1:24.763
6
9. V. Bottas Alfa Romeo 12 1:26.038 9 10 1:25.297 6
9
1:25.058
6
10. L. Norris McLaren 2 1:25.131 7 3 1:24.685 8
10
–
6
11. Yu.Tsunoda AlphaTauri 13 1:26.058 10
11
1:25.301
6
12. K. Sainz Ferrari 9 1:25.808 10
12
1:25.328
8
13. C.Perez Red Bull 11 1:25.991 10
13
1:25.462
6
14. A. Elbon Williams 15 1:26.118 10
14
1:25.707
5
15. N. Hulkenberg Haas 10 1:25.904 6
15
1:25.783
6
16. L.Sargent Williams
16
1:26.210
10
17. L. Stroll Aston Martin
17
1:26.345
10
18. L.Lawson AlphaTauri
18
1:26.635
10
19. K.Magnussen Haas
19
1:27.046
9
20. G. Zhou Alfa Romeo
20
1:27.432
9
2023-10-07 11:46:09
#Qatar #Grand #Prix #Verstappen #pole
