Lewis Hamilton Dominates Quatar GP

Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton has dominated qualifying for the Qatar Grand Prix, setting a new world record by making a one-two finish in the W12s. The British driver will start from 10th on the grid, having topped both practice sessions, and will look to repeat that performance in Sunday's race. The pressure of the title battle was evident, and rival Red Bull have been quick to criticise the rear wing. But that does not detract from the fact that he is in fighting form ahead of the race.

The Mercedes' team principal Toto Wolff, whose team was penalized by the stewards on Sunday, believes the race was unfairly contested. When Hamilton crossed the line, Wolff said to Hamilton: "Fuck 'em all". Although he did not address the stewards specifically, the comment was meant to express how resilient the team is. The team is unfazed by this, and the driver is confident about his chances of winning the race.

Verstappen dominated the race, winning by 10 seconds. The Dutch driver was second and was chasing Hamilton at the end of the session. The two drivers made separate pit stops, but Verstappen was able to stay ahead after the first pitstop. As for Hamilton, he was unable to overtake Verstappen as he had an engine issue. The Dutch driver was over seven tenths of a second slower than Verstappen, but this was a relatively minor blip.

The Silver Arrows were able to take the lead with their new one-two. Their one-two in qualifying is the first race of a 10-year deal with Qatar, and the team is still learning the circuit ahead of the race. Their strategy is to rely on teamwork and speed instead of pace. The drivers are still trying to get used to the new circuit, but the team has been able to make some impressive advances in qualifying.

The stewards also ruled Hamilton's rear wing to be too large - the stewards said his rear wing was 85mm larger than the maximum distance permitted. The stewards also pointed out that it would be impossible to overtake a car in a similar situation if the front wing were too large. This ruling has left the driver in contention for the title.

The two Mercedes drivers are still well separated, but Lewis Hamilton is still the better driver. Bottas was 0.78 second faster than his teammate, while his rival was almost a full second slower. With a two-second advantage in qualifying, Lewis was clearly the faster driver. The title race is on Sky Sports F1 on Monday evening at 7.30pm. You can watch the action live on the channel.