Red Bull staged an incredible turnaround after the Sprint to enable Max Verstappen to sensationally claim pole position ahead of George Russell and Lando Norris for the Qatar Grand Prix. However, Verstappen would subsequently lose the P1 slot after being hit with a post-qualifying penalty.
The Dutchman struggled in the 19-lap Sprint earlier in the day, dropping positions on the opening lap for the first time this season before he recovered to P8. The team subsequently made some small changes to his car, helping him to beat Russell to the top spot by just 0.055s, with the McLaren slightly further behind.
READ MORE: Verstappen beats Russell to surprise pole position in Qatar by just 0.055s
The Mercedes driver had claimed provisional pole after the first set of quick laps in Q3, but was relegated to second place following Verstappen’s final attempt – Norris and the second McLaren of Oscar Piastri qualified on the second row after finishing 1-2 in the Sprint.
Further down the order, Lewis Hamilton split the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz while Fernando Alonso put in an excellent lap to get the better of Sergio Perez down in P9.
Haas’s Kevin Magnussen rounded out the top 10 as the Sauber pair of Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas came nail-bitingly close to making it into the final stage of qualifying, but were forced to settle for P12 and P13 behind Pierre Gasly.
Click go on the video player above to relive the action from qualifying for the Qatar Grand Prix.
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