Many did not expect it, we would have bet that Max Verstappen would have taken pole position for the Qatar Grand Prix. And so it was, the Dutch world champion will start tomorrow from the first position!
After the first timed laps of Q1, the standings were George Russell, Lando Norris, Max Verstappen, but the story seemed open to many possibilities. In third place was for example Carlos Sainz, also Fernando Alonso... In the end, the session ended with the success of Russell and the two Ferraris in the top 3, while among the retired were the two Williams, Liam Lawson, Nico Hülkenberg and Esteban Ocon.
In Q2 Max Verstappen opened the dance in the lead, followed by Oscar Piastri and George Russell who dictated the pace, and you could see that Red Bull Racing was improving more and more. McLaren did the same, especially Norris, who after his last attempt in Q2 took the lead, but Verstappen managed to find something more and finished ahead of Norris and Leclerc. The two Alfas, however, had to give way to Pierre Gasly, Yuki Tsunoda and Lance Stroll for a shower.
After the first attempts in Q3, Russell was leading against the reborn rival Red Bull, but in the end the Dutchman found so much pace that he easily took pole position ahead of George Russell and Lando Norris. So, it promises to be an exciting race tomorrow, as already world champion Max Verstappen will start from the front of the grid, while McLaren, fighting for the constructors' title, awaits the Qatar Grand Prix race in a better position.
