Norris clinches Qatar Sprint pole - Russell secures second
Today at 01:47 PM
Lando Norris secured pole position for the Qatar Grand Prix sprint race, narrowly outpacing Las Vegas Formula 1 victor George Russell. Norris delivered his best lap on his initial attempt in the final session, clocking a 1m21.012s without relying on the preparation lap strategy many other drivers adopted.
On his second run, Norris brushed the gravel at Turn 2, curtailing his session early. This left him watching from the pits as Oscar Piastri made a bid for pole with a purple first sector on his second attempt.
However, Piastri faltered in the subsequent sectors, failing to improve his time. Russell capitalized, moving into second with a lap just 0.063s off Norris' benchmark.
Carlos Sainz joined Piastri on the second row, delivering his best lap in the session's dying moments. An earlier attempt had been abandoned, forcing the Ferrari driver to take three preparation laps before mounting his final charge. His effort edged him ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc, who settled for fifth.
Max Verstappen, already crowned champion, struggled to extract more from his final run and ended up sixth. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton claimed seventh, finishing half a second clear of Pierre Gasly in eighth. Nico Hulkenberg secured ninth, followed by Liam Lawson, whose faster lap was erased for exceeding track limits.
Fernando Alonso narrowly missed out on SQ3 after a late lap by Gasly bumped him out of the top 10. Gasly found just under a tenth to earn his place in the final session. Alex Albon also fell short during the intermediate stage, as a small error at Turn 15 cost him crucial time on his last attempt.
Albon's margin over Sauber's Valtteri Bottas was razor-thin at 0.012s. Bottas, despite strong first and second sectors, faltered in the final part of his lap. Both Lance Stroll and Kevin Magnussen also failed to progress from Q2.
Sergio Perez's struggles continued, with the Red Bull driver eliminated in the opening stage. He missed advancing by 0.013s, narrowly staying ahead of Yuki Tsunoda, who lost time in the final sector and fell short of progression.
Esteban Ocon also dropped out of Q1, unable to respond as others improved late in the session. Last-minute gains from Alonso, Stroll, and Hulkenberg pushed Ocon into the bottom five.
At the back, Zhou Guanyu and Franco Colapinto rounded out the field, with neither managing to find the pace to escape the relegation zone during their final attempts.
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