ADVERTISEMENT
  • Who are you backing this weekend? #saudiarabia #formula1 #straighttothegrid
  • Highlights from the opening race of the season 🥳 #bahrain #2023 

📸: F1 live feed
  • Just hours away from the first race of the season!! #bahraingp #straighttothegrid #formula1
  • Follow us on TikTok ahead of the 2023 season #straighttothegrid #linkinbio
  • Verstappen has won the final race of 2022 - marking his 15th win of the season #abudhabi
  • George Russell wins the Brazilian Grand Prix in São Paulo 🏆
  • Max Verstappen has been crowned 2022 world champion after winning the Japanese GP 🏆🏁
  • 🏁 Highlights from Monza 🏁
Straight to the grid
ADVERTISEMENT
  • Home
  • News
    • All
    • Driver News
    • Latest
    • Team News
    Red Bull

    Championship Standings: Red Bull running away with early points as Formula 1 heads to Australia for Round Three

    Perez

    Sergio Perez wins Saudi Arabian GP to lead second Red Bull one-two of the season making team history

    Perez

    Qualifying: Perez in pole position after Verstappen’s shock departure

    Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez

    FP3 Saudi Arabia: Red Bull domination continues with one-two to finish practice

    Verstappen, FP2, Saudi

    FP2 Saudi Arabia: Verstappen remains out front while Hamilton’s struggles magnified

    Verstappen

    FP1 Saudi Arabia: Max Verstappen fastest but Aston Martin showing pace at Jeddah

    saudi arabia

    Everything you need to know ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

    verstappen

    2022 Saudi Arabian GP: Throwback to Max Verstappen securing the win after epic battle with Leclerc

    Toto Wolff, Bahrain

    Big changes confirmed at Mercedes after “one of the worst days in racing”

    • Latest
    • Driver News
    • Team News
  • Features
    • All
    • Interviews
    • Race Reports 2020
    • Race Reports 2021
    Verstappen, FP2, Saudi

    FP2 Saudi Arabia: Verstappen remains out front while Hamilton’s struggles magnified

    Verstappen

    FP1 Saudi Arabia: Max Verstappen fastest but Aston Martin showing pace at Jeddah

    saudi arabia

    Everything you need to know ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

    verstappen

    2022 Saudi Arabian GP: Throwback to Max Verstappen securing the win after epic battle with Leclerc

    • Interviews
    • Race Reports 2020
    • Race Reports 2021
  • Races
    • Race Calendar
    • Championship standings
  • More
    • Quiz
    • Competitions
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • All
    • Driver News
    • Latest
    • Team News
    Red Bull

    Championship Standings: Red Bull running away with early points as Formula 1 heads to Australia for Round Three

    Perez

    Sergio Perez wins Saudi Arabian GP to lead second Red Bull one-two of the season making team history

    Perez

    Qualifying: Perez in pole position after Verstappen’s shock departure

    Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez

    FP3 Saudi Arabia: Red Bull domination continues with one-two to finish practice

    Verstappen, FP2, Saudi

    FP2 Saudi Arabia: Verstappen remains out front while Hamilton’s struggles magnified

    Verstappen

    FP1 Saudi Arabia: Max Verstappen fastest but Aston Martin showing pace at Jeddah

    saudi arabia

    Everything you need to know ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

    verstappen

    2022 Saudi Arabian GP: Throwback to Max Verstappen securing the win after epic battle with Leclerc

    Toto Wolff, Bahrain

    Big changes confirmed at Mercedes after “one of the worst days in racing”

    • Latest
    • Driver News
    • Team News
  • Features
    • All
    • Interviews
    • Race Reports 2020
    • Race Reports 2021
    Verstappen, FP2, Saudi

    FP2 Saudi Arabia: Verstappen remains out front while Hamilton’s struggles magnified

    Verstappen

    FP1 Saudi Arabia: Max Verstappen fastest but Aston Martin showing pace at Jeddah

    saudi arabia

    Everything you need to know ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

    verstappen

    2022 Saudi Arabian GP: Throwback to Max Verstappen securing the win after epic battle with Leclerc

    • Interviews
    • Race Reports 2020
    • Race Reports 2021
  • Races
    • Race Calendar
    • Championship standings
  • More
    • Quiz
    • Competitions
No Result
View All Result
Straight to the grid
No Result
View All Result

Qualifying Report Qatar: Lewis Hamilton secures first F1 pole at the Losail International Circuit

"I was here until midnight last night working with the engineers, who also always work so late, they're such hard workers, and found a lot of areas which I could improve"

Hamilton

Credit: Sky Sports

Lewis Hamilton has secured the first-ever Formula One pole position at the Losail Circuit in Qatar this afternoon.

Taking off behind him will be the Red Bull of Max Verstappen in second and next in line, the Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas in third.

Speaking after Qualifying, the pole sitter said; “Yesterday was a really difficult day for me actually. Thursday and Friday I wasn’t feeling too well and so really struggled throughout practice. I was just off yesterday so really had to dig deep.

“I was here until midnight last night working with the engineers, who also always work so late, they’re such hard workers, and found a lot of areas which I could improve.

“Made a lot of changes for P3 and it seemed to work. Then of course you’ve got to carry that through to qualifying, but I’m so grateful for the timings they put us out on track, we didn’t have any traffic.

“Then that last lap was beautiful. It was a really sweet lap.”

Hamilton added: “I had a bit of a stomach ache from Wednesday but felt fantastic today. I slept well last night so that makes a big difference.”

Q1

Charles Leclerc set an early fastest lap this afternoon moving to the front of the field for Ferrari – however, his teammate quickly pushed him out of the top spot with his lap in 1:23.323.

Lewis Hamilton headed out on track early on to set a decent leading pace in 1:22.019.

Max Verstappen’s early laps saw a deficit of two-tenths of a second behind his closest rival.

Valtteri Bottas’ opening effort saw him land in fourth behind Lando Norris .- 0.9s off Hamilton.

After his second attempt, however, he squeezed ahead of Hamilton, by just 0.003s on older soft tyres.

Alpine’s Fernando Alonso and the AlphaTauri of Pierre Gasly were in fourth and sixth and were performing extremely well on the new circuit.

With four minutes to go, Verstappen moved out front and was the first driver to enter the 1:21s.

He finished his lap in 1:21.996, 0.020s ahead of Bottas.

By the end of Q1 the following drivers were eliminated:

16. Kimi Raikkonen, Alfa Romeo
17. Nicholas Latifi, Williams
18. Antonio Giovinazzi, Alfa Romeo
19. Mick Schumacher, Haas
20. Nikita Mazepin, Haas

DRIVERTEAMTIMETYRE
HAMMERCEDES1:21.901S
VERRED BULL+0.095S
BOTMERCEDES+0.115S
SAIFERRARI+0.403S
PERRED BULL+0.497S
ALOALPINE+0.521S
TSUALPHATAURI+0.557S
GASALPHATAURI+0.634M
VETASTON MARTIN+0.648S
STRASTON MARTIN+0.650S
OCOALPINE+0.664S
RICMCLAREN+0.787S
LECFERRARI+0.841S
NORMCLAREN+0.938S
RUSWILLIAMS+0.962S
RAIALFA ROMEO+1.255S
LATWILLIAMS+1.312S
GIOALFA ROMEO+1.361S
MSCHAAS+1.506S
MAZHAAS+3.958S

Q2

Lewis Hamilton posted the fastest lap in 1:21.682 with his teammate Valtteri Bottas following across the line three-tenths behind.

Moments later, Gasly crossed the line to go second fastest – two tenths off Hamilton – followed by the Red Bull of Verstappen a further tenth back.

The Alpines and both Alphatauris were all in the top seven – as their great performance in Q1 continued into Q2 – even more surprisingly, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was in P15 with 6 minutes to go.

The Monegasque driver was 0.9s off his teammate Carlos Sainz, and told the team he doesn’t know where he’s going to find improvements.

With the final laps underway, Norris, Perez, Ricciardo, and Leclerc were all on the soft tyres for their flying laps but they would need sufficient times to be released from the drop zone.

When time rant out, the five drivers who didn’t make the Q3 cut were:

11. Sergio Perez, Red Bull
12. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
13. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
14. Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren
15. George Russell, Williams

DRIVERTEAMLabel 3Label 4
HAMMERCEDES1:21.682S
GASALPHATAURI+0.046S
ALOALPINE+0.212S
VERRED BULL+0.302S
BOTMERCEDES+0.309M
OCOALPINE+0.330S
TSUALPHATAURI+0.376S
VETASTON MARTIN+0.464S
NORMCLAREN+0.534S
SAIFERRARI+0.559M
PERRED BULL+0.664S
STRASTON MARTIN+0.778S
LECFERRARI+0.781S
RICMCLAREN+0.915S
RUSWILLIAMS+1.074S

Q3

In the final shootout this afternoon, Hamilton set the fastest lap for provisional pole, followed by his teammate Valtteri Bottas, only to be split moments later by the Red Bull of Max Verstappen who was just one-tenth off the lead.

With time swiftly running out, Hamilton was four tenths up on his own original benchmark through the first sector alone – setting a time that would ensure pole by the end of the session.

Meanwhile, disaster struck Gasly after he endured a puncture on the main straight – thankfully his previously set time was enough to ensure P4 for tomorrow’s race.

Valtteri Bottas will take off in third tomorrow, behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen after their final flying laps this afternoon.

The top ten results at the end of the session were:

1. Hamilton, Mercedes
2. Verstappen, Red Bull
3. Bottas, Mercedes
4. Gasly, AlphaTauri
5. Alonso, Alpine
6. Norris, McLaren
7. Sainz, McLaren
8. Tsunoda, AlphaTauri
9. Ocon, Alpine
10. Vettel, Aston Martin

DRIVERTEAMTIMETYRE
HAMMERCEDES1:20.827S
VERRED BULL+0.455S
BOTMERCEDES+0.651S
GASALPHATAURI+0.813S
ALOALPINE+0.843S
NORMCLAREN+0.904S
SAIFERRARI+1.013S
TSUALPHATAURI+1.054S
OCOALPINE+1.201S
VETASTON MARTIN+1.958S

Speaking to Sky after the session, Max Verstappen said; “We’re just lacking a bit of pace. It’s been just a bit more tricky for us again in qualifying.

“Checo is not even in Q3 so it definitely shows we are struggling a bit more than normal. But nevertheless it’s still second, so it’s all to play for.

“But I wish we could have fought for more.”

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Related

Tags: Lewis HamiltonPoleQatar GPQualifying
Previous Post

FP3 Qatar: Bottas leads Hamilton in final practice session

Next Post

Post Qualifying news round-up: Wolff on “dirty driving”, Leclerc’s confusion & more

Related Posts

Verstappen, FP2, Saudi
Catch up

FP2 Saudi Arabia: Verstappen remains out front while Hamilton’s struggles magnified

Verstappen
Catch up

FP1 Saudi Arabia: Max Verstappen fastest but Aston Martin showing pace at Jeddah

saudi arabia
Catch up

Everything you need to know ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

verstappen
Catch up

2022 Saudi Arabian GP: Throwback to Max Verstappen securing the win after epic battle with Leclerc

Bahrain GP race podium
Catch up

Five talking points after the Bahrain Grand Prix – from Red Bull dominance to a midfield shakeup

Max Verstappen, Red Bull, Bahrain GP
Catch up

Max Verstappen wins the Bahrain GP and says team “can definitely fight” with dominant RB19

Next Post
Red Bull, Max Verstappen in Bahrain

Verstappen gives major RB19 update in Bahrain which may raise concern among other teams in the paddock

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
30 years ago Jordan Grand Prix made its Formula One debut

30 years ago Jordan Grand Prix made its Formula One debut

Latest figures show F1 to be the second fastest growing major sports league on the planet

Latest figures show F1 to be the second fastest growing major sports league on the planet

Jordan

INTERVIEW: Eddie Jordan is an ‘irrepressible character’ who ‘ducked and dived’ to make it in F1

standings

Championship Standings: Max Verstappen leads as we head to Texas

Red Bull, Max Verstappen in Bahrain

Verstappen gives major RB19 update in Bahrain which may raise concern among other teams in the paddock

Aston Martin, FP2, Bahrain

Fernando Alonso shocks spectators as he places his Aston Martin at the top of the FP2 timesheet in Bahrain

Mercedes, George Russell, Bahrain

Issues persist for Mercedes as George Russell complains about floor and a ‘disturbance aerodynamically’

Aston Martin, FP2

Friday, Bahrain: Here are the full results from FP1 and FP2 as Aston Martin impress

Red Bull

Championship Standings: Red Bull running away with early points as Formula 1 heads to Australia for Round Three

Perez

Sergio Perez wins Saudi Arabian GP to lead second Red Bull one-two of the season making team history

Perez

Qualifying: Perez in pole position after Verstappen’s shock departure

Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez

FP3 Saudi Arabia: Red Bull domination continues with one-two to finish practice

Recent News

Red Bull

Championship Standings: Red Bull running away with early points as Formula 1 heads to Australia for Round Three

Perez

Sergio Perez wins Saudi Arabian GP to lead second Red Bull one-two of the season making team history

Perez

Qualifying: Perez in pole position after Verstappen’s shock departure

Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez

FP3 Saudi Arabia: Red Bull domination continues with one-two to finish practice

Popular Stories

  • Verstappen, FP2, Saudi

    FP2 Saudi Arabia: Verstappen remains out front while Hamilton’s struggles magnified

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Everything you need to know ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Qualifying: Perez in pole position after Verstappen’s shock departure

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • FP1 Saudi Arabia: Max Verstappen fastest but Aston Martin showing pace at Jeddah

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • 2022 Saudi Arabian GP: Throwback to Max Verstappen securing the win after epic battle with Leclerc

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Straight to the Grid

Straight to the Grid

Straight to the Grid is Ireland's first exclusive Formula One news source, bringing fans all of the latest
news, results, interviews, features and much more!

Navigation

  • Catch up
  • Competitions
  • Driver News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Irish F1
  • Latest
  • News
  • Quiz
  • Race Reports 2020
  • Race Reports 2021
  • Race Reports 2022
  • Team News
  • Uncategorized

Instagram

  • Who are you backing this weekend? #saudiarabia #formula1 #straighttothegrid
  • Highlights from the opening race of the season 🥳 #bahrain #2023 

📸: F1 live feed
  • Just hours away from the first race of the season!! #bahraingp #straighttothegrid #formula1
  • Follow us on TikTok ahead of the 2023 season #straighttothegrid #linkinbio
  • Verstappen has won the final race of 2022 - marking his 15th win of the season #abudhabi
  • George Russell wins the Brazilian Grand Prix in São Paulo 🏆
  • Max Verstappen has been crowned 2022 world champion after winning the Japanese GP 🏆🏁
  • 🏁 Highlights from Monza 🏁
  • Max Verstappen has won the Dutch GP 🏁
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Latest
    • Driver News
    • Team News
  • Features
    • Interviews
    • Race Reports 2020
    • Race Reports 2021
    • Race Reports 2022
  • Races
    • Championship standings
    • Race Calendar
  • More
    • Quiz
    • Competitions

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.