Car number 63 started the Qatar Grand Prix from pole position but Max Verstappen immediately seized the lead on his way to victory number 63.
He and the other two multiple champions on the grid – Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso – now have 200 grand prix victories between them. Hamilton scored his 105th win earlier this year but over a decade has passed since Alonso’s 32nd career win at the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix.Speaking of centuries, Alonso officially recorded his 400th grand prix start last weekend, and marked it with a strong run to seventh, Aston Martin’s best result since the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Verstappen led Sunday’s race from start to finish. It’s the second time this year he’s held the lead throughout a race, along with the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, which was also 57 laps. The only other drivers to do the same this year were Charles Leclerc in Monaco and Lando Norris in Singapore.
The only other track on the calendar with no lead changes in its last three events is Singapore. However the last race before that, in 2019, had four different leaders (the 2020 and 2021 races were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic).
At least on this occasion the Qatar Grand Prix wasn’t won by the pole-winner, though Verstappen would no doubt have something to say about who was the rightful occupant of the pole position spot last weekend. He immediately passed George Russell, who claimed pole due to Verstappen’s grid penalty for holding the Mercedes driver up in qualifying.
This was Verstappen’s second penalty in three qualifying sessions in Qatar. He picked up a five-place grid penalty for failing to slow for double waved yellow flags in 2021: The same infraction he spotted Norris committing during last weekend’s race.
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Russell therefore started from pole position for the sixth time in his grand prix career. This was also the first time he has taken pole in back-to-back races. He now has as many pole positions as rival Carlos Sainz Jnr, as well as Phil Hill, Emerson Fittipaldi, Alan Jones, Jean-Pierre Jabouille, Carlos Reutemann and Ralf Schumacher.
With Sauber on the board, all 10 teams will score points this year, for the third season in a row. Bottas remains the only driver to have started every race without scoring a point, though he at least moved up from last place in the championship last weekend, overtaking Logan Sargeant thanks to his 11th-place finish.
Norris recovered to finish 10th after his penalty. He also picked up the bonus point for fastest lap, which is only paid out to drivers who finish in the top 10. The last time the 10th place finisher scored the fastest lap point was also in the penultimate round, at Las Vegas last year, and the recipient was Norris’s team mate Oscar Piastri. The bonus point for fastest lap won’t be awarded after this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, ending its return after six seasons.
That was the 12th fastest lap of Norris’s career, giving him as many as rival Sergio Perez, along with Alberto Ascari, Jack Brabham, Rene Arnoux and Juan Pablo Montoya. Norris set half of his fastest laps this year, and has twice as many as any other driver in 2024.
The 10-second stop-go penalty he received in the race is uncommon in F1, but has been seen earlier this year: Alexander Albon collected one at Imola after his team failed to fit his front-right wheel correctly. But Verstappen’s one-place grid drop is much more unusual: The last driver to receive that was his current team mate Perez at the Tuscan Grand Prix four years ago.
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Over to you
Have you spotted any other interesting stats and facts from the Qatar Grand Prix? Share them in the comments.
2024 Qatar Grand Prix
- Horner ‘believes 100%’ Verstappen did not threaten to crash into Russell
- Russell and Verstappen cast new light on clash which triggered explosive row
- Hamilton’s puncture not caused by mirror debris – Mercedes
- Another start-to-finish win shows Qatar GP could be F1’s most processional race
- “Am I dead last now?” Unheard radio from Hamilton’s disastrous Qatar GP
Jere (@jerejj)
4th December 2024, 7:25
Max Verstappen surpassed 3000 points in F1, & he more precisely reached 3015.5, remaining third on the all-time list behind Lewis Hamilton & Sebastian Vettel.
On the other hand, George Russell surpassed 700 (his total is 704 presently), & Charles Leclerc surpassed 1400 (1415), while Lando Norris failed to reach 1000, but he’ll do so in Abu Dhabi if he scores at least 18 points.
Max Verstappen’s first standard qualifying pole position since the Austrian GP.
He also became the third driver to receive a one-place grid penalty, with the others being Sergio Perez in the 2020 Mugello GP for a collision with Kimi Räikkönen in FP2 & Nico Hulkenberg in the 2016 German GP qualifying for using a tyre set that was supposed to be returned to Pirelli after FP3.
Lewis Hamilton’s drive-through penalty was the first such penalty handed during a race since the 2016 Hungarian GP where Jenson Button received one for radio comm instructions which were limited by rules at the time or at least I struggle to recall any more recent such examples.
Franco Colapinto suffered his first DNF in F1.
Andy (@andycz)
4th December 2024, 8:00
Colapinto has DNF from Brazil…
Jere (@jerejj)
4th December 2024, 8:03
My bad. I briefly forgot & for that matter, I also clarify that by first pole position I mean first pole position by qualification, even if not actual starting position.
notagrumpyfan
4th December 2024, 8:12
It’s typically referred to as ‘qualified first (second, third, etc.’ ) versus ‘started from pole (second, third, etc.)’.
But even then it often confuses people ;)
Jere (@jerejj)
4th December 2024, 8:18
Indeed
Jere (@jerejj)
4th December 2024, 8:07
As a belated addition to my original post, the Qatar GP most certainly isn’t F1’s most processional race, even if none thus far has featured a lead change after lap 1.
That status still belongs to the Monaco GP in any case.
sumedh
4th December 2024, 9:14
Barrichello has also got a 1-place penalty in Japan 2009. (However, that was a 5 place penalty that first put him from 5th to 10th, but as other drivers got penalties, he moved up and finally ended on 6th).
notagrumpyfan
4th December 2024, 9:50
Interesting.
Was there ever a driver serving a grid penalty who eventually started from a higher (closer to pole) grid spot?
Axel
4th December 2024, 10:49
Sergio Perez got a 5-place grid penalty in Italy 2017, yet lined up 10th after qualifying 11th due to the ridiculous amount of (engine) penalties being incurred that weekend.
notagrumpyfan
4th December 2024, 13:45
Thank you for remembering (and/or looking it up) and sharing.
Jere (@jerejj)
4th December 2024, 12:33
sumedh Effectively, yes, but not quite the same as actually receiving a single-place penalty.
SteveR (@stever)
4th December 2024, 15:35
Did you normalize points for other drivers like Schumacher? The points system has changed over the years; back in the day only the first six finishers got points, with first earning 9 points. This makes comparisons difficult. I quote Wikipedia:
MacLeod (@macleod)
4th December 2024, 8:06
Just a note: Zandvoort stops with F1 so 2026 is the last one … Seems a African one is in the race to take it’s place.
Jere (@jerejj)
4th December 2024, 8:08
Not necessarily an African one & in any case, it wouldn’t be a direct replacement, given how many non-European options have been on the table.
notagrumpyfan
4th December 2024, 8:15
That’s a pity.
I really like(d) the racing on that circuit (rain or shine).
F1statsfan (@f1statsfan)
4th December 2024, 8:57
Perez will finish 8th in the driver championship, not since 1994 has a team mate of the driver champion finish this low. In 1994 it was Jos Verstappen that finished 10th as team mate of Michael Schumacher and was actually still the best team mate Michael had that year.
* Jos only drove 10 of the 16 races for Benetton scoring 10 points (2x 3rd, 1x 5th, 1x 8th & 6 retirements)
* JJ Lehto drove 6 races for Benetton (4x replacing Jos and 2x replacing Michael) and 2 for Sauber scoring 1 point
* Johnny Herbert drove 2 races for Benetton, 1 for Ligier and 13 for Lotus scoring no points
There were 5 different teams in the top 5 for the first time since Belgium race in 2021.
With Max winning Qatar race – the #1 car has finished on the podium for the 400th time.
James Brickles (@brickles)
4th December 2024, 9:45
Would be curious to know how far down a teammate has finished compared to his championship winning teammate having completed the full season, could be Hector Rebaque against Nelson Piquet in 1981?
Andy (@andycz)
4th December 2024, 10:34
Or David Walker in 72. But he missed few races.
F1statsfan (@f1statsfan)
4th December 2024, 11:57
In 1981 (15 races) Hector Rebaque finished 10th with 11 points versus Nelson Piquet being champion with 50 points.
Be aware that from 1950 to 1990 not all races counted towards the driver championship only the best scores. From 1981 to 1990 that was the best 11 scores.
Additionally like in 1994 only the top 6 scored points so scoring points was much harder even in a championship contending car if you were slightly off the pace of your driver champion team mate.
Using the 1981-1990 point system Perez would have 28 points (1 since Miami) and Max 118 points (123 if all results are counted).
With 1981-1990 point system Red Bull & Ferrari would be tied at 151 points with McLaren at 160.
Using the 1991-2002 point system (win now 10 points instead of 9 and all results counted) Perez would still have 28 points (1 since Miami) and Max 132points.
With 1991-2002 point system Red Bull would be ahead of Ferrari with 160 versus 156 and McLaren would be at 165.
Frank
4th December 2024, 12:32
Interesting analysis of the different points systems.
It is maybe worth pointing out that it was not necessarily harder to score points in the earlier systems. With many more DNFs, you could score points even if you were not one of the top 6 fastest.
F1statsfan (@f1statsfan)
4th December 2024, 15:20
Fair point but then there was also a greater risk that the driver himself didn’t finish while prior to retirement being in a point scoring position.
Additionally the grid is now much smaller than back in the 80′ and 90′ where they even not everyone qualified to start the race.
6 get points out of 24 = 25%
10 get points out of 20 = 50%
Even if you assume back then on average 8 cars retired versus today 2 cars the odds are still in favor of today.
6 out 16 cars that finish = 37.5%
10 out of 18 cars that finish = 55.5%
Frank
4th December 2024, 18:52
Not saying it was necessarily less difficult but I think it would be incorrect to claim it was much more difficult.
Are 8 and 2 the right numbers or are you assuming? My flawed memory seems to remember that it was not uncommon for half the field to drop out in the 90s. In contrast, zero retirements are not unheard of nowadays.
SPArtacus
5th December 2024, 9:16
I think it’s entirely fair to claim it was harder to score points when only the top 6 scored. Sure, you might be more likely to inherit a point through attrition than you are now if you are in a hopeless car, but as for consistently scoring points, it’s miles harder under the only system if you’re not in the top 4 cars.
grat
5th December 2024, 0:36
Kovalainen finished 7th in 2008. So pretty close.
Red Andy (@red-andy)
4th December 2024, 9:00
First time that an F1 sprint race was decided with last-lap overtake. Finally the unmatched drama and excitement we were promised!
StephenH
4th December 2024, 10:35
+1
Señor Sjon
4th December 2024, 9:18
Verstappen his 44th win was when car 44 dropped from 1 to 4 (Hungary 2023).
Verstappen his 63th win was when car 63 dropped from 1 to 4 (Qatar 2024).
osnola
4th December 2024, 11:52
so it stops at 99?
ECWDanSelby (@ecwdanselby)
4th December 2024, 9:39
The ones the drivers enjoy are generally the worst for the fans…
Craig
4th December 2024, 9:47
Not always, but some of the tracks that are amazing to drive aren’t always the most conductive to car racing (such as Mugello).
SPArtacus
5th December 2024, 9:20
Imola is another example. Spain is another. It may not be a driver favorite, but they do enjoy driving. They don’t enjoy the lack of passing oops.
But CoTA, Spa, Suzuka, Turkey and other driver favorites, are both driver favorites and great for the fans. So, I wouldn’t say that are rhe most beloved are bad for fans. Seems like the opposite if anything.
Τάσος Μπεκρης
4th December 2024, 10:21
25 years later, 1999, was the last time Ferrari and McLaren were constructors title contenders until the very last race of the season.
sumedh
4th December 2024, 10:43
Not 25, but 16. Mclaren had a mathematical chance of clinching the WCC in 2008 at the Brazilian GP
paulgilb (@paulgilb)
4th December 2024, 22:43
Second time this year (after Canada) where Russell has been on pole ahead of Verstappen despite not registering a faster (after rounding to the nearest 0.001s) lap time than him.
Driver #81 has become the 81st driver to manage 10+ podiums.
First circuit at which Piastri has finished on the podium twice.
Verstappen scored more points with his win than Perez has managed in the last 9 race weekends.
Piastri was the only driver to start behind his team-mate but finish ahead of him.
Red Bull have no mathematical chance of the Constructors’ Championship (barring any exclusions etc), making Verstappen the second driver (after Piquet) since 1958 to twice win the Drivers’ Championship without his team winning the Constructors’ Championship.
Thanks to statsf1 and the official F1 site for some of these.
Edvaldo
5th December 2024, 0:07
This track is great for MotoGP, that straight looks like it’s 2 miles long for the bikes.
But for F1 and its dirty air and difficulty to follow up close, it’s way too short. There are no overtaking sports elsewhere, so, this track will hardly ever produce anything decent.
BenHur
7th December 2024, 23:00
It was unexpectedly delayed because of the Silverstone and Spa disasters, but finally after the Qatar race Michael Schumacher has recovered the fifth place in wins/race entered (29.64%) after Juan Manuel Fangio (47.06%), Alberto Ascari (40.63$), Jim Clark (34.72%) and Max Verstappen (30.29%). If Max’s relative drought of wins in the last few months goes on, Schuey might recover 4th position (but can never go any higher).
I am not counting the outliers, Lee Wallard and Bill Vukovich, who with 50% and 40% wins/race entered, respectively, would be 1st and 4th; both drivers only entered those pesky Indy 500 races from the fifties that officially count as F1 races.
BenHur
7th December 2024, 23:22
To be precise, it would take no wins for Max in the next 5 races entered (presumably by Bahrein 2025) for Schuey to recover 4th place; Max would fall to 5th with 29.58%.