Verstappen, pole ahead of Qatar title; Alonso, outstanding, on the edge of the podium

The McLarenwith the Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, they directed the roads on a track full of sand and very slippery like that of Lusail. Max Verstappen It doesn’t seem as far away as other Grands Prix. But in the moment of truth, when Max Verstappen wanted, he left everything to be desired. He went straight and left everything, not caring. The Dutchman slammed his fist on the table when it hurt the most, in Q3, in the middle of the final battle. On his first attempt he put half a second on Mercedes and 7 tenths to Piastre. So it was announced that the game was over. And finally, he didn’t even have to mark the second last lap to take pole position at F1 Qatar GP 2023.

So, the Dutchman will face his homework this Saturday. He took pole and will start 1st on Sunday, but this Saturday, at the independent sprint day in Qatar, he will be looking for something more important: his third crown. This Saturday, Max only needs to score 3 points in the sprint race (6:30 pm/ DAZN F1) to secure his third consecutive title. It is enough for him to be 6th. In the short qualy this Saturday morning he will once again be the favorite. He’s all set to celebrate before heading for another victory this Sunday.

Big mistake by Norris

Max Verstappen will start this Sunday in first position after beating Lando Norris by 0.296. However, it would be worse for the British McLaren driver. His first Q3 lap was annulled for exceeding track limits. And on his last and final turn, Lando falls into the same trap again at turn 10. He crossed the white line with all 4 tires and went from 2nd position to 10th at the start for Sunday. His partner Oscar Piastri made the same mistake. He was going to start 3rd after Norris’ failure, but he will start 6th because he went over the limits. They gave two positions to Fernando Alonso, who started 6th, moved up to 4th on the grid this Sunday.

That’s the difference between a good pilot and an alien. Between Lando Norris, a young man like Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen. The Dutchman, as Sainz always says, forms the best tandem in his car and has so much margin that he does not have to take risks, and thus, he hardly makes mistakes. Lando had to do everything to catch up with Max, although he currently has the second best car on the grid and better weapons than his pursuers present. He squandered his McLaren’s potential with his mistakes and will have to come back this Sunday.

Russell’s mistake gave the position to all his pursuers. This is great for his compatriot George Russell, who was 2nd on the starting grid on Sunday (0.441 behind Max), and also for Lewis Hamilton, who will start 3rd (0.527 behind). And the mistakes of Lando and Norris were also taken advantage of by Fernando Alonso to climb to the 4th position (0.591 behind).

The Asturian said before this GP that the “overconfidence” the English team has can be positive. Norris responded sternly. But Asturian probably refers to such things as in this classification to Lando and Piastri. His mistakes gave Fernando two places and the option to continue defending himself against the attacks of the orange cars. in the fight for fourth place in the Constructors’ World Championship. Although, yes, With Stroll (17th) far behind after another qualifying disaster, Alonso is struggling to defend that fortress.

Alonso, 4th, nails

Fernando Alonso has once again created magic with his hands. The Asturian had already warned a few races ago that the Aston Martin was “more meat for Q1 or Q2” than breaking into the top 10. But Alonso He continues to take advantage of all his options and make the most of his vehicle to continue opposing the cause. The driver from Oviedo is the only driver to qualify for all the Q3s of the year, always among the top 10. He repeated again in Qatar.

The man from Oviedo always takes advantage of any adversity to make a difference. He has done it several times this year in the rain. And this time, on a very delicate, slippery path, full of sand, with wind and heat, Fernando once again made the difference in his hands and achieved, with his ability to adapt to the complex conditions, the tenth missing from his car. .under normal conditions. In a car ready to dream of Q3, he achieved 4th place in qualifying like glory. No errors, again, on a very complicated track.

Tough day for Ferrari and Sainz, out of Q3

Alonso took advantage of Ferrari’s difficult day, with Leclerc 5th after a good qualifying. The Monegasque, with his tremendous ability to be quick in difficult-to-drive cars, was Ferrari’s only member in Q3. Sainz will start 12th after not getting his car into the top 10 in a very complicated qualifying. The Ferrari is the car that suffers the most from the gusts of wind, a very difficult car to drive. Driving in Qatar with strong winds is a nightmare for those in redespecially Sainz, who will be looking to bounce back this Sunday from 12th place.