Qatar Grand Prix – Sprint Shootout: Oscar Piastri in pole for the Sprint race, the McLarens hit hard

This Saturday, the drivers clashed during the Qualification Shootout in Qatar, which establishes the starting grid for the 100-kilometer Sprint race scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on the same day. It should be noted that neither the result of this Shootout nor that of the Sprint will influence the starting grid of Sunday’s Grand Prix, which was set on Friday. For his part, Max Verstappen seems well on his way to winning his third world title at the end of the Sprint. But that remains to be seen later in the day.

Note that the FIA has announced an additional 10-minute test session before the start of the Shootout, as well as new safety measures. The track limits have been modified around several bends, which has the effect of slightly reducing the width of the track in certain places, the FIA set up this short session to allow drivers to familiarize themselves with the new layout. During this session, Logan Sargeant was spotted hitting a trackside sign, and Max Verstappen briefly lost control of his car, narrowly avoiding the gravel.

The Sprint Shootout thus began with a 20-minute delay. In addition, Pirelli carries out an analysis of the tyres that were used for about 20 laps to check various safety parameters, as there is a high risk of tire blowouts on the Losail circuit.

Q1

For these first 12 minutes of Shootout qualifying, all drivers must wear medium tires. Given the speed of this session, the single-seaters do not waste any time and Charles Leclerc is the first to take to the track, followed by the Mercedes and his teammate Carlos Sainz.

Ferrari’s Spaniard records the first time at 1:29.047, but quickly falls in the ranking against almost all the other faster single-seaters. Lando Norris confirms that the McLarens are very fast this weekend and takes the fastest time, but George Russell then takes priority over him. As usual, Max Verstappen crushes everyone on his first lap. Logan Sargeant sees his time deleted for having infringed the track limits at turn 13. A delicate subject that will need to be carefully watched in Doha, on this modified Losail circuit. Charles Leclerc also pays the price, at turn 5, and Lewis Hamilton, also at turn 13. Followed by Pierre Gasly and Nico Hülkenberg.

As during the qualifications the day before, Lance Stroll is eliminated in Q1. Another underperformance that will not help the tensions around the Canadian after his controversial move on Friday. A little scare for Charles Leclerc, who found himself in the elimination zone until his last lap, managing to save the day. This will not be the case for Tsunoda, who saw his lap be deleted after exceeding the track limits.

List of eliminated : Logan Sargeant (20th), Kevin Magnussen (19th), Yuki Tsunoda (18th), Alex Albon (17th), Lance Stroll (16th).

Q2

The Mercedes come out first, with Carlos Sainz, as the sun goes down on the horizon. George Russell sets the first pace, with a time of 1:26.232. Hamilton sees his time deleted, once again because of track limits. As for Q1, Verstappen steals the first time as soon as he arrives, but Lando Norris pips him to the post. The Ferraris have a bad fifteen minutes and find themselves in the elimination zone, before they eventually manage to get out of it. However, Carlos Sainz hovers on the edge and falls back into the eliminated ranks after seeing his time invalidated. Pierre Gasly is also struggling, while Esteban Ocon fares better and even climbs to 4th place. Surprise at the end of the session: Carlos Sainz ultimately pushes Lewis Hamilton into the red zone after improving his time on his final lap. Note that Hülkenberg’s Haas managed to climb to 9th position.

List of those eliminated : Guanyu Zhou (15th), Valtteri Bottas (14th), Liam Lawson (13th), Lewis Hamilton (12th), Pierre Gasly (11th).

Q3

The 10 fastest from this Shootout are off to the final straight before tonight’s Sprint race, at 7:30 p.m. All the single-seaters are fitted with soft tires. This time, it’s Max Verstappen who comes out first, eager to finish, and posts a time of 1:24.543…Before it is deleted . « Are you sure? », the Dutchman responds to his engineer who brings him the bad news. Charles Leclerc is also once again a victim of track limits. Twice. Bad luck continues to target the Monegasque, as Lando Norris again takes first place, followed by his teammate Oscar Piastri. There is little time left for Leclerc and Verstappen to post their times. The Monegasque will not do much better, while the Dutchman climbs to 3rd place…behind the two McLarens, which are indeed fast in Doha. It is Oscar Piastri who secures the pole. Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso also had their times cancelled due to track limits.

The results table