Lewis Hamilton has taken a dominant pole position for the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix with Max Verstappen behind him by over a half second. Valtteri Bottas finishes the top three but a mighty effort from Pierre Gasly in 4th and Fernando Alonso rounding out the top 5.
Qatar Qualifying Results:
| Pos | Name | Car | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1m21.901s | 1m21.682s | 1m20.827s |
| 2 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda | 1m21.996s | 1m21.984s | 1m21.282s |
| 3 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1m22.016s | 1m21.991s | 1m21.478s |
| 4 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri-Honda | 1m22.535s | 1m21.728s | 1m21.64s |
| 5 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine-Renault | 1m22.422s | 1m21.894s | 1m21.67s |
| 6 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | 1m22.839s | 1m22.216s | 1m21.731s |
| 7 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Ferrari | 1m22.304s | 1m22.241s | 1m21.84s |
| 8 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri-Honda | 1m22.458s | 1m22.058s | 1m21.881s |
| 9 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine-Renault | 1m22.565s | 1m22.012s | 1m22.028s |
| 10 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 1m22.549s | 1m22.146s | 1m22.785s |
| 11 | Sergio Pérez | Red Bull-Honda | 1m22.398s | 1m22.346s | |
| 12 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 1m22.551s | 1m22.46s | |
| 13 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1m22.742s | 1m22.463s | |
| 14 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren-Mercedes | 1m22.688s | 1m22.597s | |
| 15 | George Russell | Williams-Mercedes | 1m22.863s | 1m22.756s | |
| 16 | Kimi Räikkönen | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1m23.156s | ||
| 17 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams-Mercedes | 1m23.213s | ||
| 18 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1m23.262s | ||
| 19 | Mick Schumacher | Haas-Ferrari | 1m23.407s | ||
| 20 | Nikita Mazepin | Haas-Ferrari | 1m25.859s |
I’m afraid this race is going to be a parade, depending on the first turn on lap 1. A 6am start here on the west coast, which is not that early, but I do like to sleep in.
Impressive performance from Hamilton. We’ll see how that translates into long term pace.
My concern are the reports that the drivers asked for clarity what’s acceptable overtaking and left the meeting without anything being agreed. Except Max who felt an agreement was reached. Last thing we need to see is a Schumacher Hill end to this season.