Lando Norris took pole position for Saturday’s sprint race in Losail ahead of George Russell and Oscar Piastri.
Norris did not need to improve with his second push lap in the final phase of sprint qualifying as he was still ahead of the rest of the field even after abandoning his last run.Russell will start second ahead of Piastri and the two Ferraris of Carlos Sainz Jnr and Charles Leclerc with Max Verstappen sixth on the grid.
SQ1
Conditions were slightly cooler than the earlier practice session when the first phase of sprint qualifying began under the lights in Losail.
All drivers headed out on track on medium tyres, a unique rule for the first two phases of sprint qualifying. After setting the quickest time in practice, Charles Leclerc set the early best time with a 1’22.156, a tenth of a second ahead of team mate Carlos Sainz Jnr.
However, Verstappen’s Red Bull team mate Sergio Perez needed to find time on his final lap. But out of phase with the cars around him, he had to slow significantly to find space to start his final push lap, having to fend off Leclerc into turn one as he did so.
Perez improved but only to 13th. With Liam Lawson and Alexander Albon finding time with their final laps, Perez fell to 16th and was out at the first hurdle. Yuki Tsunoda was also knocked out in 17th, with Esteban Ocon, Zhou Guanyu and Franco Colapinto also failing to make it through.
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SQ1 result
| P. | # | Driver | Team | Model | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL38 | 1’21.356 | |
| 2 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Ferrari | SF-24 | 1’21.838 | 0.482 |
| 3 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | W15 | 1’22.021 | 0.665 |
| 4 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB20 | 1’22.033 | 0.677 |
| 5 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | W15 | 1’22.151 | 0.795 |
| 6 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | SF-24 | 1’22.156 | 0.800 |
| 7 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL38 | 1’22.218 | 0.862 |
| 8 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin-Mercedes | AMR24 | 1’22.499 | 1.143 |
| 9 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber-Ferrari | C44 | 1’22.506 | 1.150 |
| 10 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Mercedes | AMR24 | 1’22.522 | 1.166 |
| 11 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | VF-24 | 1’22.560 | 1.204 |
| 12 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas-Ferrari | VF-24 | 1’22.569 | 1.213 |
| 13 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | A524 | 1’22.586 | 1.230 |
| 14 | 30 | Liam Lawson | RB-Honda RBPT | 01 | 1’22.705 | 1.349 |
| 15 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | FW46 | 1’22.705 | 1.349 |
| 16 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB20 | 1’22.718 | 1.362 |
| 17 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB-Honda RBPT | 01 | 1’22.722 | 1.366 |
| 18 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine-Renault | A524 | 1’22.906 | 1.550 |
| 19 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Sauber-Ferrari | C44 | 1’22.948 | 1.592 |
| 20 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Williams-Mercedes | FW46 | 1’23.423 | 2.067 |
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SQ2
Drivers were still compelled to run the mediums for the second stage of sprint qualifying. Leclerc was once again the early pacesetter with a 1’22.130, until that was beaten by less than a tenth by Oscar Piastri.
Russell enjoyed a brief stint at the top of the times before Lando Norris replaced him with a time two tenths faster. Piastri had a time deleted for exceeding track limits at turn two, but went faster on his next lap to make up for the error.
The competition to reach the final stage of sprint qualifying was especially fierce, with half a tenth covering eighth to 15th at the end of the session. Liam Lawson narrowly squeezed through into SQ3 in tenth, denying Fernando Alonso by half a tenth.
Alexander Albon’s session also came to an end in 12th, with Valtteri Bottas knocked out 13th. Lance Stroll and Kevin Magnussen were also knocked out, slower than their respective team mates.
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SQ2 result
| P. | # | Driver | Team | Model | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL38 | 1’21.231 | |
| 2 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | W15 | 1’21.488 | 0.257 |
| 3 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL38 | 1’21.548 | 0.317 |
| 4 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | W15 | 1’21.734 | 0.503 |
| 5 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB20 | 1’21.784 | 0.553 |
| 6 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Ferrari | SF-24 | 1’21.809 | 0.578 |
| 7 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | SF-24 | 1’21.818 | 0.587 |
| 8 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas-Ferrari | VF-24 | 1’22.318 | 1.087 |
| 9 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | A524 | 1’22.352 | 1.121 |
| 10 | 30 | Liam Lawson | RB-Honda RBPT | 01 | 1’22.393 | 1.162 |
| 11 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin-Mercedes | AMR24 | 1’22.433 | 1.202 |
| 12 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | FW46 | 1’22.526 | 1.295 |
| 13 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber-Ferrari | C44 | 1’22.538 | 1.307 |
| 14 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Mercedes | AMR24 | 1’22.599 | 1.368 |
| 15 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | VF-24 | 1’22.738 | 1.507 |
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SQ3
For the final phase of sprint qualifying, drivers had to run on soft tyres, allowing them to finally show their true pace.For the third consecutive session, Leclerc was quickest early on, but his lap was easily beaten by both McLarens, both Mercedes and Verstappen. Norris was on provisional pole after his initial push lap, a tenth ahead of team mate Piastri. Russell was third, with Verstappen between the two Mercedes drivers.
Norris abandoned his second and final flying lap attempt in the final sector as he was not on course to improve. However, his initial push lap was still good enough to secure him pole position for Saturday’s sprint race, Piastri falling short with his final effort.
That allowed Russell to split the two McLarens with a lap half a tenth off from Norris’s best, with Piastri another tenth behind the Mercedes in third. The two Ferraris of Sainz and Leclerc were fourth and fifth, with Verstappen having to settle for sixth ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
Pierre Gasly took eighth, with Nico Hulkenberg promoted to ninth after Lawson lost his best time for exceeding track limits at turn six.
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SQ3 result
| P. | # | Driver | Team | Model | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL38 | 1’21.012 | |
| 2 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | W15 | 1’21.075 | 0.063 |
| 3 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL38 | 1’21.171 | 0.159 |
| 4 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Ferrari | SF-24 | 1’21.281 | 0.269 |
| 5 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | SF-24 | 1’21.308 | 0.296 |
| 6 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB20 | 1’21.315 | 0.303 |
| 7 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | W15 | 1’21.474 | 0.462 |
| 8 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | A524 | 1’21.978 | 0.966 |
| 9 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas-Ferrari | VF-24 | 1’22.088 | 1.076 |
| 10 | 30 | Liam Lawson | RB-Honda RBPT | 01 | 1’22.577 | 1.565 |
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Jere (@jerejj)
29th November 2024, 18:36
Norris was simply flying & in another world.
Tsunoda still doesn’t make his case for a promotion any easier, Ocon still struggles, & Checo once again failed to progress from Q1, i.e., nothing new.
Colapinto was clearly hampered by the old-spec parts, though.
Jere (@jerejj)
29th November 2024, 18:36
I almost forgot that Bottas was surprisingly fast in Q1.
SPArtacus
29th November 2024, 19:08
It was nice to see Bottas actually have a car in which he could hope to make a difference. Audi better be knuckling down behind the scenes if they don’t want to look like a complete joke when they finally slap their sticker on the car.
SPArtacus
29th November 2024, 18:48
He was .001 behind Lawson in Q3 and had traffic. All it showed was that a rushed prep lap and a little bad luck can make a big difference. He outperformed LL by a mile in Vegas. Let’s see what happens in the sprint race and, more importantly, race qualifying before we make any updated analyses.
Perez, ironically, likely had an improved quali from Vegas where P16 required 3 cars not getting a real lap in. This time he earned his P16 with the Saubers being decently midfield here and everyone getting in a lap. Though he’s probably P17 if Colapinto isn’t in a glued together mixed, old spec car.
Alonslow
29th November 2024, 18:52
Another Lando George first row, I can already see George blasting past Lando on the first lap.
SPArtacus
29th November 2024, 19:11
I hope Norris doesn’t crash into George, who has nothing to lose, to prevent him from getting by. Ferrari requires a miracle to catch up and that would be a start to producing one if he did.
MichaelN
29th November 2024, 19:47
Miracle might be a bit much, as the gap is just 24 points. They gained 12 points in Vegas without doing particularly well.
It’s still very much possible, although a good result for McLaren here will send it into “one-two vs double DNF in Abu Dhabi” territory.
SPArtacus
30th November 2024, 5:12
I meant to write minor miracle. (so, I agree with you)
RH
29th November 2024, 18:57
George was fantastic.
Applebook
30th November 2024, 2:32
I would pay big bucks to see Max and George in the same team.
Crawliin-from-the-wreckage- Special Unhinged Edition (@davedai)
30th November 2024, 6:11
P4 looks like a comfortable place to start. “Pregnant” with promise as it were.
SPArtacus
30th November 2024, 8:19
The field is incredibly tight. Nearly the entire field is within a handful of tenths. I think we could be in for one the best or at least better races of the season.