McLaren’s Lando Norris took Formula 1 Sprint pole at the Qatar Grand Prix, topping all three segments of Friday’s Sprint Qualifying session.
Norris’ time of 1:21.012s couldn’t be matched as Mercedes’ George Russell split him from McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri.
Ferrari came into the session in the best form, having topped the solitary practice session with Charles Leclerc, with Carlos Sainz inside the top five with the fourth-fastest time.
McLaren was also looking good coming into Sprint Qualifying with Norris and Piastri having gone second and third fastest in practice.
READ MORE – F1 2024 Qatar Grand Prix – Sprint Qualifying Results
The initial SQ1 session in Sprint Qualifying saw drivers set out to attack the Lusail International Circuit on mandatory Medium tyres.
Times continued to tumble in line with track evolution, which meant timing would be crucial for those looking to escape elimination.
Sergio Perez out in SQ1
Once again, Red Bull’s Sergio Perez went out of a qualifying session at the earliest opportunity, 16th fastest, by a crucially tight margin, 13 thousandths of a second.
Meanwhile, Max Verstappen advanced as the fourth-quickest driver, over six-tenths faster than his team-mate.
Joining Perez in elimination were RB’s Yuki Tsunoda, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu and Williams’ Franco Colapinto.
Meanwhile, Norris advanced to SQ2 as the fastest driver, ahead of Sainz and Mercedes’ Las Vegas GP winner Russell.
Norris fastest in first two segments of Sprint Qualifying
Norris continued that form into the second session as he went fastest again, but Mercedes looked to remain in the hunt with Russell second and Lewis Hamilton in fourth.
At the other end of the spectrum, there was a scrap to fight into the top-10 SQ3 shootout and of course, five drivers would be disappointed.
The Aston Martin duo of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll didn’t make the cut, finishing 11th and 14th respectively.
Williams’ Alex Albon was resigned to 12th, as Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas put in a valiant performance to finish 13th.
Haas’ Kevin Magnussen rounded out the SQ2 order in 15th place.
That left the full complement of McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari machines to battle in the SQ3 top-10 shootout with the Red Bull of Verstappen and a single charger from the team’s fighting for sixth in the Constructors’ Championship: Haas, Alpine and RB.
Lando Norris completes clean sweep of Sprint Quali at F1 Qatar GP
With the initial runs complete in SQ3, it was a provisional front-row lockout for McLaren with Norris leading Piastri.
Norris bailed from his final run, but Piastri couldn’t better his team-mate’s 1:21.012s effort.
Russell was able to split the two McLarens, with Sainz and Leclerc finishing fourth and fifth respectively for Ferrari.
World Champion Verstappen was sixth, ahead of old rival Hamilton in seventh.
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg and RB’s Liam Lawson rounded out the top-10.
READ MORE – Lando Norris bills Mercedes as favourites to win F1 Qatar GP
