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Lewis Hamilton claimed an emphatic pole-position at the first-ever Qatar Grand Prix which is being held at the Losail International Circuit, much is still unknown though going into Sunday’s race.

There is a wide range of tyres being started on for the Grand Prix, with the top three all starting on the medium compound tyre, followed by a number of drivers starting on the soft, including fourth place starter Pierre Gasly. Pirelli have noticed incredible track evolution during the second day of Formula One action on the circuit, with times tumbling every session.

Pirelli are predicting that the 57-lap race will be a two-stopper, with the ideal strategy being to start on the mediums followed by a stint on the hards before a final stint on the mediums. With so little data though on how the circuit behaves, there is no definite answer as to what the best strategy will be for the race, leaving much for the teams to discuss as they edge closer to the race.

Pirelli’s Head of F1 and Car Racing Mario Isola is expecting to see a mix of strategies during the race, with still so much unknown about the venue.

“Track evolution remained high today, also with no support races on the schedule, which meant that we saw the fastest times right at the end of qualifying, and some medium tyre times in Q2 that were faster than the soft tyre times in Q1. With just short stints in qualifying, and FP3 this morning taking place in the heat of the day (with a focus on qualifying) the teams can only rely on FP2 for relevant long-run information, which is crucial when it comes to formulating the strategy.

It was another tough qualifying for the Uralkali Haas F1 Team, with drivers Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin qualifying on the last row of the grid, the position they have grown all too accustomed too.

Schumacher put in a good performance during qualifying at the Losail International Circuit but was yet again eliminated from qualifying in the first session. The German will start the first-ever Qatar Grand Prix from nineteenth place on the grid.

Despite his starting position, Schumacher has enjoyed driving around the circuit and actually believes the team have exceeded their targets for this weekend.

“It’s a fun track – I enjoy driving here and definitely night driving is something to get used to. We knew it was going to be tough but actually overall I’m quite happy. We maximised what we had from the lap time and matched our targets, if not even exceeding them a bit.

“There was always going to be traffic in the last corner, it’s just the way the last sector builds. Everyone wants some temperature for the last corner but then nobody wants to give up a position, so we all stack. We managed it well as a team so I’m very happy about that.”

It was a first-ever Qualifying at the Qatar Grand Prix to forget for the Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN team, with both drivers failing to make it out of Qualifying One. Kimi Räikkönen will start sixteenth with Antonio Giovinazzi in eighteenth at the Losail International Circuit.

Räikkönen qualified the better out of the two Alfa Romeo’s in what was the only positive to take away from a disappointing qualifying. Williams Racing’s George Russell starts ahead of both Alfas, a big problem for the team whom are fighting Williams for eighth in the Constructors’ standings.

Räikkönen ended qualifying satisfied with his performance and isn’t too sure where the problems with the car lies, he expects an interesting race on Sunday.

“We did the best we could out there: it was not a bad lap and surely there wasn’t anything specific we could point our finger at. The car wasn’t bad in terms of balance, we were just not fast enough and the lap time reflected that. The track was the best it has been all weekend, and it is going to be interesting to see how the racing shapes up tomorrow.

“Starting that far back is not ideal, but it’s what we got and we’ll try to improve. Overtaking won’t be easy, but that’s pretty much the same everywhere we go so let’s see what we get out of this.”

George Russell was Mr Saturday yet again after making it to Qualifying Two at the Qatar Grand Prix, eventually qualifying in fifteenth place. Team-mate Nicholas Latifi didn’t make cut for second qualifying and lines up seventeenth at the Losail International Circuit.

It was a good Saturday for Russell, both Williams Racing drivers have struggled in recent events, therefore making it to the second qualifying session is a solid step forward by himself and the team. Most importantly the British driver qualified ahead of both Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN drivers, the team’s main rivals now for the remainder of the season.

Russell is happy with his performance and is looking forward to the race on Sunday.

“I am pleased with the job we did today as we were a few tenths ahead of the Alfa Romeos, who are our main rivals, but unfortunately, we were just a bit too far from Q3. It was fun out there but it’s always a shame when you can’t make that next step, especially when you put in a strong lap.

“We were struggling to make the most of the tyre on the first lap but for Q2, we tried to maximise that one lap and we just couldn’t quite get the most out of it. I think it will be difficult to overtake tomorrow but it’s unique conditions here and a new track, so we’re looking forward to the race and let’s see what we can do.”

Max Verstappen has been summoned to the stewards ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon after potentially going through double yellow flags on his final flying lap and not aborting his lap.

After Pierre Gasly had run across the kerbs at turn fifteen and damaged his car, the Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda driver continued onto the start and finish straight, only to stop his car on the run to the finish line.

Red Bull Racing’s Verstappen continued to attack up until the chequered flag and improved his time, even though it was still 0.455 seconds back on the best time of the session set by Lewis Hamilton.

It is unclear to whether the incident triggered a yellow sector with race control.  Had it done so, Verstappen’s steering wheel would have illuminated, and he would have been forced to abandon his lap.  What is clear was that the double yellow flags were being waved on track.

Should he be found guilty, Verstappen faces a grid drop penalty for Formula 1’s first-ever race at the Losail International Circuit, which would give Hamilton an extra advantage at the front of the field.

Carlos Sainz Jr. will start the Qatar Grand Prix from seventh on the grid, with the Spaniard admitting the decision to qualify in Q2 on the medium tyre was a big gamble.

The Scuderia Ferrari driver only just made it into the top ten in Q2, but once inside the top ten, Sainz showed he had the pace to be fighting at the front of the midfield.

Sainz will be surrounded by drivers on the soft tyres at the start, which he believes will make the opening of the race a little tricky, but he believes that he will have the advantage and be in the fight for good points on Sunday evening under the floodlights at the Losail International Circuit.

“P7 is a good qualifying result, given where we were yesterday and it shows the progress we’ve made today with the car,” said Sainz.  “In Q2 we took a big risk running twice with the Medium and thankfully it worked after a very strong first attempt.

“On Softs it would have been easier to get into Q3, but given our tyre degradation, we believe the Medium tyre is the best for our race, although I’ll be surrounded by Soft runners at the start and that is going to be extremely challenging. In Q3 I was able to put together a good lap but didn’t manage to improve on that P7.

Lando Norris was happy with the outcome of Qualifying for the Qatar Grand Prix, with the McLaren F1 Team driver pleased to end sixth on the grid at the Losail International Circuit.

Norris believed McLaren made good progress with the car between final practice on Saturday afternoon and Qualifying under the floodlights, and he rewarded the team with a place on the third row of the grid alongside Fernando Alonso.

The only downside for Norris was the fact he made it into Q3 on the soft compound tyre, but he will be looking to make the most of that to score good points for the team and hopefully help close the gap to Scuderia Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship.

“Very happy with today,” said Norris.  “We made a good amount of improvement from FP3 into qualifying and we weren’t expecting P6.

“I’m definitely pleased with that, especially because it wasn’t an easy P6, but it was done with probably one of the best laps I’ve done in qualifying for quite a long time. I’m satisfied with my job and what we did as a team as well. That helped us out today. So, a positive day overall.

Christian Horner says he is pleased to see Max Verstappen on the front row for the Qatar Grand Prix, but he believes the run to the first corner could be the decisive moment of Sunday’s race.

With overtaking looking like it will be difficult around the Losail International Circuit, Horner says the start and the run down to the first corner could have big ramifications for the race, with the Team Principal of Red Bull Racing hoping Verstappen can get the jump on title rival Lewis Hamilton.

“It’s great to be on the front row with Max, he got the maximum performance out of the car today and has an opportunity down into turn one tomorrow, but it’s going to be very difficult to follow closely after that with the speed of these corners and mount an overtake,” said Horner. 

“So the first 500m are going to be crucial and then it will come down to strategy, pit stops and reliability, all of those factors, and the tyres are under constant load at this track, so it’s going to be fascinating to see how they last tomorrow.”

Whereas Horner was pleased to see Verstappen on the front row, he was disappointed to see the Red Bull of Sergio Pérez eliminated from Qualifying in Q2, with the Mexican set to start the race down in eleventh.

Toto Wolff says it was a spectacular Qualifying session under the floodlights at the Losail International Circuit on Saturday, with Lewis Hamilton dominating to take his one hundred and second pole position of his career.

Hamilton ended more than four-tenths of a second ahead of title rival Max Verstappen, while team-mate Valtteri Bottas ended over six-tenths back in third.

Wolff, the team principal of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team, was delighted with the way Hamilton dominated in Qatar despite not having had the pace in free practice.  On the flip side, Bottas appeared to lose pace compared to practice, but he is still in a good place to give the team a strong result on Sunday evening.

And he believes Mercedes have what it takes to carry the momentum from Qualifying into race day as they look to replace Red Bull Racing at the top of the Constructors’ Championship, with Hamilton also looking to overhaul Verstappen in the Drivers’ standings.

“That was a spectacular qualifying session and what a lap by Lewis to take pole,” said Wolff.  “This is the result of the hard work both in the build-up and during the weekend on understanding the car and finding the right set-up at this new track.

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.