McLaren entered Verstappen’s party and Piastri was the first to start the sprint

Everything is prepared Max Verstappen dominated, again, in the qualifying session ‘shoot out’ which will determine the starting order for the sprint race this Saturday afternoon (6:30 pm), where Max Verstappen He has everything to become a three-time F1 world champion. However, the two McLarens, who failed to qualify on Friday, made up for their mistake by surprising a turn with a good performance that allowed them to overtake the big favourite. Oscar Piastri He was the fastest with 1’24″454, with his partner Lando Norris in 82 thousandths and Max Verstappen in third position at 0″192.

The starting grid for the Qatar sprint race:

1. Oscar Piastri (AUS/McLaren-Mercedes) 1:24.454
2. Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren-Mercedes) 1:24.536
3. Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull) 1:24.646
4. George Russell (GBR/Mercedes) 1:24.841
5. Carlos Sainz (ESP/Ferrari) 1:25.155
6. Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari) 1:25.247
7. Nico Hülkenberg (GER/Haas-Ferrari) 1:25.320
8. Sergio Pérez (MEX/Red Bull) 1:25.382
9. Fernando Alonso (ESP/Aston Martin-Mercedes) –
10. Esteban Ocon (FRA/Alpine-Renault) –
11. Pierre Gasly (FRA/Alpine-Renault) 1:25.686
12. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) 1:25.962
13. Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Alfa Romeo-Ferrari) 1:26.236
14. Liam Lawson (NZL/AlphaTauri-Red Bull) 1:26.584
15. Zhou Guanyu (CHN/Alfa Romeo-Ferrari) 1:54.546
16. Lance Stroll (CAN/Aston Martin-Mercedes) 1:26.849
17. Alexander Albon (THA/Williams-Mercedes) 1:26.862
18. Yuki Tsunoda (JPN/AlphaTauri-Red Bull) 1:26.926
19. Kevin Magnussen (DEN/Haas-Ferrari) 1:27.438
20. Logan Sargeant (USA/Williams-Mercedes) –

Verstappen, for his third title today

Despite this, the options for Max to win his third title with the points awarded in Saturday’s sprint race still intact. The Dutchman needs to score 3 points, to be at least sixth. He will come out third in everything in his face, especially when he sees that it is his ally ‘Checo’ Pérezsecond to worldwas still far away and failed again in 8th position, 7 tenths off the time of Max (0″928 off is the best time).

Sainz, 5th and Alonso, 9th after losing his great lap

Carlos Sainz take a step forward compared to Friday. In qualifying on Friday he was 12th and this time he could be 5th, at 0″701, beating his teammate Leclerc, who was 6th at 0″793. Carlos Sainz He suffered a lot on Friday, but a day later he managed to tame a Ferrari that is set to suffer a lot this weekend on a slippery track, with a lot of oversteer and a lot of wind, something that affects the Ferrari more than others. Cars.

Hülkenberg was 7th and Pérez 8thpreceding a Fernando Alonso who finished in 9th position as his last lap was canceled due to exceeding track limits. The Asturian driver was very fast throughout the classification, but he was unable to enter the final Top-5 because of that last mistake.

Fernando drove an Aston Martin with less downforce than his rivals to make up for his straight top speed deficit. After his excellent 4th place on the grid on Sunday, he tried again, but this time the two McLarens did not disappoint, nor did Sainz. Hamilton, 12th in his Mercedes while Russell was 4th. And in his first lap time, Alonso took 9th place.

Meanwhile, his companion Lance Strolling He continued to sink, unable to advance to SQ2, finishing 16th. Lance was 0.9 behind Alonso’s best time in SQ1.

Past trouble with tires

All of this, This happened after Saturday’s short classification was delayed due to a safety problem on the track.

As reported by the FIA ​​​​and Pirelli, the tires can suffer delamination problems when they exceed 20 turns due to the curves that the cars pass through (in the shape of a triangle) when they exceed the limits of track with one of their wheels. So, track employees had to repaint some curves to reduce the width of the layout, which puts limits on the interior. After the changes, the condition of the tires must be checked to see if the race on Sunday runs with the obligation to make at least three stops, with a maximum limit of 20 laps for each tire.