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Fernando Alonso feels the Losail International Circuit is one of the circuits that suits the Alpine F1 Team in 2021 as the Spaniard claimed an excellent fifth on the grid for Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix.

The two-time World Champion has been showing good speed throughout the weekend in Qatar, and he maintained that into Qualifying and was able to easily get into the top ten shootout.

Alonso knows the points are paid out on Sunday evening under the floodlights in Qatar, and although there are several question marks and unknowns about race conditions, he is confident that he can bring home some good points for Alpine.

“I think the whole weekend has been positive for us,” said Alonso.  “The car felt strong in all sessions and seems to enjoy the high-speed corners here. I told the team if they gave me enough fuel, I would be driving all night long and I would wait for them here tomorrow morning!

“It seems some circuits are better than others for our package and Qatar seems to be one of those. We need to study why we miss this performance in other circuits. But the points are scored tomorrow, so we need to maximise our starting slot.

Sebastian Vettel will start from tenth place for tomorrow’s first-ever Qatar Grand Prix after an excellent qualifying at the Losail International Circuit, team-mate Lance Stroll starts twelfth after narrowly missing out on a spot in final qualifying.

It was a good day’s work by the four-time world champion, the German managed to out-qualify Sergio Pérez, Daniel Ricciardo and Charles Leclerc, with times at the circuit being incredibly close between the midfield. Vettel was denied the opportunity to improve on tenth place, after Pierre Gasly suffered a puncture at the end of qualifying, resulting in a yellow flag temporarily in the final sector.

Nevertheless, tenth is a strong place to start for Vettel, who feels much more competitive this weekend.

“I think we are feeling a bit more competitive this weekend and I had a good day overall. We managed to beat a Ferrari, a McLaren and even a Red Bull in Q2 so I think we can be happy. Unfortunately, during my final run in Q3, I encountered traffic and then the yellow flags prevented any chance of improving, which was a shame. Overall, it was a decent qualifying session and we will see what we can do in the race. Overtaking here is difficult but not impossible and it will be a new experience for all of us.”

“We could have got a bit more from the session” – Lance Stroll

The Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team came so close to both cars appearing in final qualifying, with Lance Stroll missing out by just a tenth of a second. Despite the disappointment of missing out on a spot in the top ten, twelfth place does give Stroll free tyre choice for the race on Sunday, and with tyre degradation being predicted to be high, starting on fresh tyres could present opportunities.

Pierre Gasly put in an unbelievable qualifying performance at the Qatar Grand Prix before sudden puncture in the closing minutes in final qualifying, nevertheless the Frenchman lines up in fourth for the Race on Sunday.

It was another excellent Saturday for Gasly, who out-qualified Red Bull Racing’s Sergio Pérez; the Frenchman is in a strong position going into Sunday although did experience a puncture on his final lap in qualifying. Gasly ran wide at Turn 15, damaging his front wing in the process which in return blew his front right tyre. It meant that n one behind him was able to significantly improve, securing Gasly a fourth place start for the race.

Gasly is very happy with qualifying but is aware that their rivals the Alpine F1 Team aren’t too far behind.

“I’m super happy with Qualifying, it’s been pretty amazing and we’re right behind Mercedes and Max again which is great. I was going even faster in the last lap, improving by one and a half tenths, but I went over the kerb at Turn 15 and I lost the front wing, which then blew the front right tyre. At the end of the day, it was still a really strong Qualifying and we’re in a good position for tomorrow. The Alpines are pretty close again, so I think it’ll be another intense battle in the race.”

“I’m happy I will be starting P8” – Yuki Tsunoda

It was double top-ten delight for Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda, with Yuki Tsunoda qualifying an excellent eighth place at the Losail International Circuit. Both Tsunoda and Gasly will start on the soft compound tyre for Sunday’s race, putting them on a more attacking strategy than those around them.

Max Verstappen admitted to being shocked to have been so far off Lewis Hamilton in Qualifying for the Qatar Grand Prix, but the Dutchman was pleased to see himself on the front row for Sunday’s race.

The Red Bull Racing driver ended 0.455 seconds back on the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team driver under the floodlights around the Losail International Circuit on Saturday evening, and Verstappen admits it is extremely difficult at this stage of the season to match Hamilton’s speed.

Despite the pace deficit on Saturday, Verstappen knows Sunday’s race could be a different story, and he knows anything can happen, but he will never give up.

“It’s been a bit of an up and down weekend so far, I was happy in quali but just not quick enough,” said Verstappen.  “I thought I had quite a decent lap but then heard the gap difference and I was a bit shocked, it’s been really difficult to match them.

“In a way I’m happy to be second but the gap to Lewis is very big. Qualifying has been more of a struggle for us over the past few races so we definitely need to have a look into it.

Lewis Hamilton was delighted to take pole position for the first-ever Qatar Grand Prix on Saturday, with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team driver almost half a second clear of the rest of the field.

Hamilton revealed that he had been suffered with illness running up to the weekend at the Losail International Circuit, so to come out of top in Qualifying meant he had to dig deep, with the Briton staying late at the track with his engineers to find the right set-up for the rest of the weekend.

And the reigning World Champion put his W12 on top of the standings with a superb first lap in Q3, only to then beat his time and extend his advantage over title rival Max Verstappen to 0.455 seconds.

“I’m very happy with that qualifying session,” said Hamilton.  “Yesterday was difficult for me, I wasn’t feeling well on Thursday or Friday and then struggled in practice. So, I had to dig deep, I was here late last night working with the engineers and we found a lot of areas to improve.

“I felt fantastic today and slept very well last night, which made a big difference. We made some changes for FP3 and it seemed to work, and I was able to carry that into qualifying. That last lap was just beautiful, this track is amazing to drive and very fast, all medium and high-speed corners.”

Lewis Hamilton clinched pole position at the Qatar Grand Prix at the twentieth race of the 2021 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.

Max Verstappen was in second position, 0.455 seconds slower than Hamilton. Valtteri Bottas was in third position behind the Dutchman.

The qualifying session started under the lights with air temperatures at 26 degrees C and track temperatures at 29 degrees C at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar.

The Pirelli tyre choice at this race is the white-striped hard compound tyres (C1), yellow-striped medium compound tyres (C2), and red-striped soft compound tyres (C3).

Q1: Räikkönen and Giovinazzi Eliminated

The two Uralkali Haas F1 Team drivers, Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher were the first drivers on the track. Mazepin had his front-wing dragging along on his first flying lap.

Valtteri Bottas finished on top of the time charts at the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix in the third free practice session. Lewis Hamilton finished in second position with Max Verstappen in third position at the end of the session.

The sixty-minute long third free practice session started under sunny conditions at the Losail International Circuit with air temperatures at 27 degrees C and track temperatures at 38 degrees C.

The Pirelli tyre choice at this race is the white-striped hard compound tyres (C1), yellow-striped medium compound tyres (C2), and red-striped soft compound tyres (C3), the hardest compounds in the Pirelli tyre range.

The two Uralkali Haas F1 Team drivers, Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher were the first drivers on the track. Mazepin missed the entire second free practice session as his chassis was changed.

Mazepin stopped at the end of the pitlane and briefly brought out the red flags as his car was retrieved.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, NASCAR has been forced to conduct much of its race weekends without practice or qualifying. For 2022, NASCAR will return practices on a more regular basis and revive the concept of knockout qualifying, though in a new style. All Cup, Xfinity, and Camping World Truck Series races will have qualifying; in 2021, only eight such weekends had the session.

How qualifying is conducted will depend on the series and track type, but a recurring theme is splitting the field into groups.

On Cup ovals and road courses, the grid is divided into two groups simply called A and B, with the assignment being determined by the finishing order of the previous week’s race (odd-finishing cars in A, even in B). For ovals, cars will go out on their own and try to set a single fastest lap (two laps at Bristol, Dover, Martinsville, and Richmond), with the top five in each group advancing to the second and final round; the fastest of the ten wins the pole. For road courses, the first round will instead give drivers fifteen minutes to set a best time, while the second is ten minutes long.

Superspeedways (Daytona and Talladega) will not use groups, but the top ten will still move on to the final round. The Bristol Dirt Race will continue to have heat races.

In the Xfinity and Truck Series, superspeedways will use the same format as in Cup. Oval races will also do one-lap qualifying (two for the same tracks as Cup). Road courses alos follow the Cup model.

The Alpine F1 Team had a strong start to the first-ever Qatar Grand Prix, with both Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso within thousandths of the top ten, they ended the opening day eleventh and twelfth respectively.

Ocon like the majority of the paddock thoroughly enjoyed his opening day at the Losail International Circuit, the track has appeared to be an instant hit with drivers for it’s first and flowing layout. The Frenchman had a good opening day, being in and around the top ten across both of Friday’s sessions, Ocon was ninth after Free Practice One and then eleventh at the end of Free Practice Two.

All in all a good start to the weekend for Ocon, who is looking forward to qualifying.

“It was a fun Friday discovering this new track. It had some very good surprises for many reasons, so it’s been an enjoyable day. The track was high grip and it was very fast and flowing, which was awesome to drive. It brings challenges of places like Sepang and Istanbul rolled into one and that was really good fun to experience. It’s challenging for all of us to learn a new track, but the team and I prepared very well so we could be ready straight away.

“It’s about getting the car into the right set-up, finding improvements run by run and seeing what ideas on the car to improve. All in all, it’s been a productive one for us today and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do in qualifying.”

Scuderia Ferrari had both drivers well off the pace at the end of the opening day of the Qatar Grand Prix, with Carlos Sainz Jr ending the first day at the Losail International Circuit in tenth with Charles Leclerc in thirteenth.

Sainz was the fastest of the Prancing Horse’s come the end of the first day at Qatar, with the Spaniard’s first two free practice sessions being about completing as many laps as possible to increase the team’s understanding of the circuit. Sainz ended the opening day almost +0.9s behind leader Valtteri Bottas, however it does appear that Ferrari put a lot of focus into their race set-up.

The Spaniard is one of a number of drivers who are really enjoying the fast and flowing nature of the circuit and is fully expecting to be higher than tenth on Saturday.

“The first day on an unknown track is always exciting and challenging, as it’s obviously a completely new experience. To be honest, I think this track has surprised everyone with how fast it is and the speed we are doing around the corners. That translates into having to work harder on the set-ups we originally had in mind and having to adapt throughout the day.

“We are not exactly where we want to be, so we need to improve the car overnight because the competition is very tight. I have full confidence that we can manage it and hopefully tomorrow we will be further up the order.“

Lance Stroll enjoyed his Friday at the Losail International Circuit, even though his morning session in Qatar was heavily affected by a hydraulics issue that left him stuck in the pits for much of the hour.

The Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team driver only completed eleven laps in the first session, but he was happy with the progress shown in the afternoon as he racked up twenty-six laps and finished an encouraging sixth fastest.

Stroll says his aim is to break into the top ten in Qualifying on Saturday afternoon, and he believes Aston Martin will also have strong pace when it matters on Sunday.

“The track has a very good flow and that makes it very enjoyable,” said Stroll.  “I had a lot of fun today.

“The hydraulics issue we experienced in FP1 did not cost us too much track time and for the second session the car felt really good. Saturday is another day but I have high hopes for a competitive weekend.

It was a good opening day at the Qatar Grand Prix for championship leader Max Verstappen, who ended the day third fastest and ahead of his championship rival. Team-mate Sergio Pérez was a disappointing eighth at the Losail International Circuit.

It was a strong opening day in Qatar for Verstappen, the Dutchman is one of the eighteen drivers in the paddock who have never raced at the circuit before, leaving much to be learnt. Verstappen got to grips with circuit quickly though, and topped the timesheets after First Free Practice. The Dutchman couldn’t repeat this feat in the evening, eventually ending the day in third place, just ahead of title rival Lewis Hamilton who was fourth.

Verstappen thoroughly enjoyed the opening day at Qatar where he found a big difference between the medium and soft tyres.

“I’ve had a lot of fun driving today, I think it’s a really cool track. FP2 was the first time we could test on the track in the evening so it was important to see how the car would react. There was quite a big change between the medium and the soft tyre for me, the soft tyre wasn’t amazing but it’s the first time here so there are a lot of things to understand.

“It’s difficult to say what will happen during the race with these cars, it’s tough to follow but I think over one lap it’s going to be good. Let’s see what happens this weekend, there’s still a lot of things to look at as everything is still so new.”

Lando Norris felt it was a better-than-expected start to the Qatar Grand Prix weekend, with the Briton ending the day with the fifth fastest time at the Losail International Circuit.

The McLaren F1 Team driver started the weekend by placing his MCL35M into tenth place in the morning, but he was on the pace in the afternoon, ending less than half a second down on pacesetter Valtteri Bottas.

And Norris says it was a good start in Qatar, particularly after he and the team anticipated more problems than what actually occurred, and it gives him some encouragement heading into the rest of the weekend.

“A good start to the weekend,” said Norris.  “In a way, more positive than we were expecting, I think because of the type of track layout we have here.

“I think we were anticipating a few more problems and possibly difficulties than we had. I think there are still some weaknesses we’ve got to work on, but on the whole a solid start.

Pierre Gasly was content after an impressive Friday at the Losail International Circuit, with the Frenchman ending second quickest in both free practice sessions.

The Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda driver was second only to Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen in the morning session, and he replicated his position in the afternoon, ending this time just behind Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team’s Valtteri Bottas.

Although he expects Red Bull and Mercedes to be the teams to beat in Qualifying on Saturday, Gasly hopes to be in the battle for best of the rest, and in particularly he wants to be ahead of the McLaren F1 Team and Scuderia Ferrari drivers when it matters.

“It’s been a very good Friday, the best of the season so far I’d say,” said Gasly.  “Inside of the car it doesn’t feel that easy, but the lap times are looking really good. I think in terms of balance we can do even better for tomorrow, so we’ll try and work on that tonight.

“Our target is of course to be as far up the grid as possible but we’re obviously realistic, we’re looking very competitive at the moment, so we’ll hope to be up there with McLaren and Ferrari again in Quali.”

Valtteri Bottas began the first-ever Qatar Grand Prix in perfect fashion, ending the opening day top of the timesheets, with team-mate Lewis Hamilton in fourth after a difficult day in Qatar.

It was a strong opening day in the desert for Bottas, the Finnish driver was third at the Losail International Circuit after the opening session of the day, before flying to the top of timesheet in Free Practice Two. The second practice session took place at the same time in which both Qualifying and the Race will be taking place, under the floodlights.

This puts Bottas in a good position going into the important part of the weekend, where he seems to have his Mercedes set-up almost perfectly for race conditions. The Finnish driver is happy with how his weekend has started.

“We’ve started the weekend pretty well with the set-up. The balance felt good, so I only made a few minor tweaks for FP2. That’s an encouraging way to start the weekend at a new track, the team did a really good job with their pre-weekend preparations.

“It’s not far off the sweet spot, obviously there’s always work to do and improvements to find and even with driving, you can’t find all the speed available in just two sessions. We’ll keep on working. It’s hard to draw conclusions from today, practice is practice, but the feeling is okay and that’s promising for the rest of the weekend.”