Lewis Hamilton took pole in qualifying and will face the Qatar GP on the front row of the starting grid. Next to him, in second position, will be a Max Verstappen that is 14 points ahead of the British rider. Valtteri Bottas will start third, Pierre Gasly fourth and Fernando Alonso fifth, which is the first time he has qualified so close to pole this season. Carlos Sainz , for his part, will face the Qatar GP from seventh position after finishing the qualifying session after Lando Norris .
The qualifying session was favorable for the Alpine riders and this was demonstrated by Esteban Ocon’s ninth place. However, like Alonso with Gasly, Ocon will be on the starting grid after Yuki Tsunoda . The Alpines will have to progress in the race if they do not want to give up fifth place in the Constructors’ World Cup in favor of AlphaTauri , with whom they are tied at 112 points .
Both Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon will have to look to the front and also to the rear view mirror. And it is that Sergio Pérez will face the Qatar GP from eleventh position on the grid after being eliminated in Q2. This elimination led Carlos Sainz to pass as tenth to Q3. Lance Stroll , Daniel Ricciardo , George Russell and Charles Leclerc were also eliminated. Thus, after two races in which it has not been like that, Ferrari will give priority to Carlos Sainz. As for Q3, there were no surprises and Kimi Raikkonen , Antonio Giovinazzi , Nicholas Latifi , Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin .
This is the starting grid of the Qatar GP
1. Lewis Hamilton (1’20.827)
2. Max Verstappen
3. Valtteri Bottas
4. Pierre Gasly
5. Fernando Alonso
6. Lando Norris
7. Carlos Sainz
8. Yuki Tsunoda
9. Esteban Ocon
10. Sebastian Vettel
11. Sergio Pérez
12. Lance Stroll
13. Charles Leclerc
14. Daniel Ricciardo
15. George Russell
16. Kimi Räikkönen
17. Antonio Giovinazzi
18. Nicholas Latifi
19. Mick Schumacher
20. Nikita Mazepin
(*) Starting grid pending future sanctions
