Saturday in Qatar was all about Mercedes and a convincing pole position for Lewis Hamilton. At the end of the day, however, the stewards had those formula 1 World under control again with threats of fines for Max Verstappen and some others.
The day started with more bad luck for Haas F1. Nikita Mazepin missed the second free practice session due to a chassis change that had to be carried out after FP1, but was also unable to participate in the third and final free practice session. He had not yet reached the end of the pit lane when he was urged to stop his car, which resulted in the session being abandoned immediately.
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Horner warns Mercedes: “If Max sees a gap, he goes for it”
DRS rattles again at Red Bull
As a result, the session started slowly. Red Bull Racing had to work hard again on the rear wings of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perezafter both drivers had the same DRS problem as in Brazil. However, the Austrian team seemed to have fixed the problem early in qualifying.
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Chances for Verstappen? “Mercedes is never that good with full tanks”
Hamilton and Bottas started their session with fast times, but Verstappen was also up to speed. He finished the session in third place, significantly closer to his competitors than in the second free practice session. Bottas was the quickest to finish the session, followed by Hamilton.
Hamilton in the lead in qualifying
The first part of qualifying brought few surprises. This time Verstappen was closer to the pace of Hamilton, who finished Q1 fastest. Bottas seemed to lose the speed he had in free practice right into qualifying.
In Q2 the Finn was already three tenths behind his team mate and he too had to look to Verstappen. Pierre Gasly and Fernando Alonso was also able to surprise in the second part of qualifying with places two and three. To the Charles Leclerc, Daniel Ricciardo and Sergio Perez, Q2 ended in disappointment. They all failed to make it into Q3.
In the third quarter, Hamilton set the tone. A few minutes before the end, several drivers tried their luck, but the session ended in disappointment. Gasly suffered a puncture and had to park his car, which meant there was little improvement. Hamilton’s pace proved unattainable for Verstappen, who had to be content with more than four tenths of a second behind the British.
Gasly and Alonso surprised the audience with places four and five. Both drivers were particularly strong throughout the weekend.
Stewards investigation again
The sport was not granted a day without controversy. A few hours after the end of qualifying SON announced that Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz and Valtteri Bottas have to report to the commissioners on Sunday morning because they ignored the yellow flag. In the case of Verstappen, it was even a double yellow flag. It remains to be seen whether the starting order reflects the qualifying results.
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Leclerc’s suspicions confirmed: “Chassis must be replaced before the race”
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