Max Verstappen snatched pole position for the Qatar Grand Prix (Image: Getty)
beat to pole position at the . Lando Norris qualified third in a disappointing drop-off for .
Russell carried his strong pace in the sprint race over into qualifying, laying down the early markers at the head of the field. He finished ahead of the two drivers in Q1, while team-mate struggled down in P7.
was the hero of the sprint earlier in the day but couldn’t find a way out of Q1, while Williams’ difficult run ended with a double elimination. and Liam Lawson were the other drivers who dropped in the first part of qualifying.
’s performance was muted during Q1, but the Dutchman snapped into form in the second part of qualifying. After the first runs, he was at the top of the timing screens, and after briefly dropping behind Norris, he set a blistering lap to go nearly three-tenths clear of the rest of the field.
and Valtteri Bottas both flirted with a rare Q3 appearance for the still-pointless Sauber team but were ultimately eliminated, while , and were also denied a chance to fight for pole position.
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George Russell will start from P2 on Sunday (Image: Getty)
Russell had the upper hand on Verstappen after the first set of Q3 laps, but the Dutchman roared back on his final flying effort, pipping the Las Vegas Grand Prix winner to pole position.
Qatar Grand Prix qualifying results in full…
1. ()
2. ()
3. ()
4. Oscar Piastri ()
5. Charles Leclerc ()
6. ()
7. ()
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8. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
9. ()
10. (Haas)
11. (Alpine)
12. (Sauber)
13. Valtteri Bottas (Sauber)
14. ()
15. (Aston Martin)
16. (Williams)
17. Liam Lawson ()
18. (Haas)
19. Franco Colapinto (Williams)
20. (Alpine)