Max Verstappen qualified in P3 for sprint race: 'Not the best lap'

Published on 07 October 2023 by Kees-Jan Koster

Max Verstappen qualified third for the sprint race in Qatar. During the so-called sprint shootout, in which the starting order for the sprint race is determined, was Max’ time in SQ3 deleted because of track limits. In his second flying lap Verstappen set the third time behind the two McLarens. Rookie Oscar Piastri will start the sprint race from pole, with teammate Lando Norris in P2. With P3 on the grid, Verstappen has a good starting position to secure his third world championship. When Max finishes in the top six during the sprint race, he will take the title.

After qualifying Max says: “It was tricky. Normally our car should be good in the heat, we just could not really get it together. With the wind the car was moving around a bit more than yesterday. And probably not the best lap of my life. P3 is okay. There are quite a few laps in the sprint race, it will be interesting. Overtaking will be tough, but it will also depend on how your tyres are staying alive. The wear is high, let’s see if we have a better race pace than the McLarens.”

Ahead of the sprint shootout there was great concern about the tyres. After the first free practice session on Friday, tyre supplier Pirelli found anomalies in the tyres. According to analysis of Pirelli and the FIA, the chance of a tyre blowout would be significant after more than twenty laps on the same tyres. The prime cause are the pyramid kerbstones. To limit the issue, track limits in turn twelve and thirteen were adjusted, so that drivers would stay away from the kerbs as much as possible. To give the drivers a change to adjust to the changes, a ten-minute additional practice session was announced, and the sprint qualifying starts 20 minutes later.

The sprint qualifying is the last session this weekend driven by daylight. The track temperature is much higher than it will be during the sprint race later today and the Grand Prix on Sunday. The drivers are also required to use medium tyres in SQ1 and SQ2, while in SQ3 the soft tyre is required. Max sets a 1:25.510 in his first flying lap, good for P1. After this lap Max comes into the pits and stays there for the rest of the session. Only George Russell goes faster, and Max gets safely through to SQ2. The following drivers drop out of the first part of qualifying: Lance Stroll (P16), Alexander Albon (P17), Yuki Tsunoda (P18), Kevin Magnussen (P19) and Logan Sargeant (P20).

For his first flying lap in SQ2 Verstappen sets a 1:21.199. It puts him in P2, behind Lando Norris. Again, Max believes his position is secure, and eventually he goes through to SQ3 in fourth position. Eliminated after SQ2 are Pierre Gasly (P11), Lewis Hamilton (P12), Valtteri Bottas (P13), Liam Lawson (P14) and Zhou Guanyu (P15).

In the third part of qualifying Max sets a fast time, but because of track limits this time is deleted. In his second run Verstappen sets a 1:24.646, good for P3. Surprisingly, Oscar Piastri takes pole position for the sprint race, followed by McLaren teammate Lando Norris in P2. George Russell finishes in P4, with the Ferraris of Calos Sainz and Lando Norris in fifth and sixth position. Nico Hulkenberg finishes seventh, with Sergio Perez in P8. Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon did not set a time because of track limits and complete the top ten.

The sprint race in Qatar will start at 19:30 Dutch time.

Contest GP Qatar: win a canvas 'Austria 2023 by Eric Jan Kremer'

Results sprint shootout Qatar: