Verstappen regains pole position… Relive the Qatar Grand Prix qualifying with live commentary

After the Sprint, it's time for the hostilities of the Grand Prix of Qatar with the qualifications. Dominant since the beginning of the weekend, the McLaren will be keen to continue after having secured the “pole position” of the Sprint and the double during the race with the victory ofOscar piastri before Lando Norris. Even though behind the competition fights to try to stand up to them under the floodlights of the Losail circuit.

F1 – Qatar GP
Live qualifying commentary

20:06 p.m. – Q3: 🏁 This is the end of this live commentary of the qualifying of the Qatar Grand Prix. We are obviously following the situation closely concerning Verstappen and Russell. Anyway, thanks for joining us and see you this Sunday at 17:00pm for the race. Have a great evening everyone!

20:00 p.m. – Q3: 🏁 AND POLE POSITION FOR VERSTAPPEN! This is his first since Austria last July, a drought of 11 Grands Prix. But be careful because the Dutchman found himself in the path of Russell who was hindered and forced to take his foot off the gas. Watch this space as he could be penalized. Russell, Norris, Piastri and Leclerc complete the Top 5. Following behind Hamilton, Sainz, Alonso, Perez and Magnussen

19:58 – Q3: With two minutes to go, here is the Top 10: Russell, Verstappen, Leclerc, Hamilton, Sainz, Piastri, Magnussen, Pérez, Norris and Alonso. The benchmark to beat is Russell in 1'20"575

19:56 p.m. – Q3: Norris takes his foot off the gas again. Second round in a row that he aborted. For the moment he has no time

19:55 p.m. – Q3: First lap for Verstappen who is ranked 2nd at 45 thousandths of a second behind Russell. It looks like it will be tight

19:53 p.m. – Q3: Three purple sectors for Russell who sets the new reference in 1'20"575. Three tenths better than Leclerc. Hamilton arrives 4th ahead of Sainz and Piastri

19:52 p.m. – Q3: The improvements are already coming in. 1'20“885 for Leclerc who is provisionally in the lead ahead of Sainz

19:50 p.m. – Q3: We have a first reference in this Q3. Magnussen places a lap in 1'21"500 on soft tires of course

19:48 p.m. – Q3: 🟢 Last part of these qualifications! See you in 12 minutes to find out the identity of the poleman for the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix

19:41 p.m. – Q2: 🏁 The end of this Q2 and 5 new eliminations. Unfortunately it's over for gasly who failed to finish 11th by just 12 thousandths! Sauber stopped there but managed a great qualification with the 12th and 13th times of Zhou et Bottas. tsunoda et Stroll are the last ones eliminated. Joy at Aston Martin with Alonso's passage into Q3. It also happened for Perez who seems better. Up front, the fight for pole promises to be fierce with Verstappen at the rendezvous and very tight gaps

19:37 p.m. – Q2: And here comes Norris! 1'20"083 for the Englishman who is the first to go under the 1'21 mark

19:35 p.m. – Q2: It's a long way for Sainz and Hamilton, only 8th and 9th almost 4 tenths behind Verstappen who has just improved and taken back the lead in 1'21"049. The first four are within 72 thousandths of each other

19:34 p.m. – Q2: Piastri improves but a little too short to beat Verstappen's mark. The Australian is 2nd at 36 thousandths of a second behind the Dutchman

19:32 p.m. – Q2: Small point in the standings as everyone completes their first quick attempt. On the provisional eliminated side, we find Bottas, Zhou, Tsunoda, Stroll and Alonso. On the French side, Gasly is 6th!

19:30 p.m. – Q2: Verstappen's turn to take the lead. 1'21"085 for the world champion while Norris missed his first lap. The Englishman is only 4th at 0"281

19:28 p.m. – Q2: Russell is the first to set a time in this Q2. 1'21"161 for the Englishman. It's already faster than at the end of Q1.

19:25 p.m. – Q2: 🟢 Here we go for Q2 in Qatar! 15 drivers still in the running and 10 places at stake 15 minutes on the clock

19:18 p.m. – Q1: 🏁 The board is agitated and we know the first people eliminated from this Q1 in Qatar: Albon, Lawson, Hulkenberg, Colapinto and Or with will not see Q2. Up front, Russell set the best time in the final moments in 1'21"241 ahead of Leclerc, Sainz, Norris and Verstappen. Good Q1 for Sauber which sees Bottas, 12th, and Zhou, 14th, qualify among the 15 fastest drivers

19:16 p.m. – Q1: The drivers go out for the last attempts of this Q1. Tsunoda, Hulkenberg, Albon, Colapinto and Ocon are provisionally eliminated

19:13 p.m. – Q1: 5 minutes from the end of this Q1, here is the provisional ranking:

19:10 p.m. – Q1: Great lap by Alonso who places himself in 3rd place just 89 thousandths of a second behind Russell, still in the lead. Alpine finally appear with a Gasly in form, provisionally 5th. Ocon has a little more trouble. The Norman is currently 20th and last at 1“6

19:08 p.m. – Q1: With 10 minutes to go, Lawson, Colapinto, Gasly and Ocon are provisionally eliminated

19:08 p.m. – Q1: Russell shows up and beats Verstappen's mark. 1'21"519 for the Englishman, faster by 0"194

19:06 p.m. – Q1: The top guns are gradually showing themselves in this Q1. Verstappen provisionally takes the lead in 1'21"713 after lighting up the three sectors in purple. Norris and Piastri follow him at 3 and 4 tenths

19:04 p.m. – Q1: As a reminder, Norris' Sprint pole position time was 1'21"012 on Friday night. Will it be beaten this Saturday?

19:03 p.m. – Q1: Magnussen sets the first reference of this Q1. 1'23“505 for the Dane on soft tires

19:00 p.m. – Q1: 🟢 The light goes green in Qatar where the Grand Prix qualifying has now started. 18 minutes on the clock for this Q1!

18h56 – 🌙 Weather-wise, the Qatari night is very calm with 19°C in the air and 22°C on the ground. We are very far from the heat of the 2023 edition

18h50 – Now 30 points ahead of Ferrari, McLaren could clinch the Constructors' title this Sunday. Here are the conditions:

After the Sprint, how can McLaren secure the Constructors' title this Sunday in Qatar?

18h47 – Quite calm, the Sprint Race was marked by Norris’ gesture, who got back at Piastri, giving him victory. A strategic move with a view to 2025?

Why Norris's offering to Piastri is (also) a strategic act with a view to 2025

18h45 – 👋 Good evening everyone ! Welcome to this live commentary to follow together the qualifications of the Qatar GP, twenty-first round of the 2024 season of Formula 1The green light will be given in a few minutes, at 19:00 p.m.!

ALSO READ > Why Norris's offering to Piastri is (also) a strategic act with a view to 2025