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Unlike the previous seasons won by Max Verstappen, the 2024 season has been considerably more challenging for the Dutch driver of Red Bull Racing, who, however, managed to mathematically secure the World Championship title at Las Vegas, defeating Lando Norris with two races to spare. Compared to the beginning of the season, when the RB20 still seemed to have an edge over its rivals, the McLaren's progress and the difficulties encountered by Red Bull Racing since another US Grand Prix, this time in Miami, have almost completely excluded the Milton Keynes team from the fight for the Constructors' Championship, as evidenced by McLaren's leadership and Ferrari's second-place position. Issues acknowledged primarily by Max Verstappen, Helmut Marko, and Team Principal Christian Horner. However, Horner highlights what made the difference: the quality and talent of his driver to still emerge as the winner:
"Since Miami, Lando has had a faster car, and if you look at the win tally, it heavily favors Max. I don’t want to diminish Lando, who’s driven very well this year, but I believe Max has been a step ahead. I’d say Miami was a turning point because the car was difficult to drive. But Max managed to adapt and get the most out of it. I think in the final races we’ve improved, but certainly, at Monza, it felt like the championship was slipping away".
Max Verstappen's performances, though not enough to bring Red Bull Racing victory from the Austrian Grand Prix to the Brazilian one, have still been crucial in consistently defending his leadership from Lando Norris’ resurgence. This, according to Horner, was also a source of motivation for the entire team:
"He’s been an inspiration from the cockpit because, week after week, he delivered results, and he’s driven brilliantly this year, which obviously inspires the rest of the team. Just look at his starting lap at the beginning of every race weekend to appreciate the level of confidence and self-belief he has".
Virtues praised by the British manager, who identifies him as the best driver on track:
"I think this year he’s driven with a lot of maturity because we didn’t have the fastest car at every race, and on the days we didn’t, he made sure to get the best out of the car and scored important points. Max has been the standout driver, absolutely. But he’s part of a team. You win as a team, and you lose as a team. I think he’s been absolutely inspiring from the cockpit, and without a doubt, he’s been the best driver on the grid this year".
Shifting the topic, given what happened during and especially after the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the press focus in Qatar is mostly on Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr.. The two Ferrari drivers, in their penultimate Grand Prix together as teammates, have made critical and certainly avoidable comments that don’t bode well for the team. These days, it’s up to Team Principal Frederic Vasseur to play the diplomat, especially with the Constructors’ Championship still in the balance, as the Maranello team is just 24 points behind McLaren and needs to defend in Qatar before aiming for victory in Abu Dhabi. A task that Vasseur managed, according to Leclerc’s statements in the Qatar Grand Prix press conference.
"I don’t want to go back to what happened in Las Vegas. These are the last races of the season, and we absolutely have to do everything we can to win the Constructors’ Championship. That’s the only thing that matters. We’ve discussed Las Vegas, and everything is fine, which is the most important thing. I have no doubts about that because I’ve always had a great relationship with Carlos. There have been some races where things didn’t go exactly as we would have wanted, but the important thing is that we discuss it and move forward. It’s very clear to both of us that we only want to win the Constructors’ Championship, and only by working as a team can we achieve this goal. I’m sure there won’t be any problems in that regard".
Charles Leclerc admits that there have been discussions with Carlos Sainz Jr., not only post-Las Vegas. However, this relationship has always survived these misunderstandings:
"Sometimes I’ve gone a bit too far, other times he has. These situations required discussions between us: we look each other in the eye and understand each other very quickly. Sometimes that type of confrontation is necessary to reset the situation. In the last races of the season, there won’t be any problems because, in the end, it’s in both our interests to win the Constructors’ Championship. We know that opportunities like this don’t come around very often, so we both have to do everything we can to win, and we need each other to make it happen".
The controversies following the Las Vegas Grand Prix cannot be forgotten in just a few days, but Charles Leclerc wants to move on:
"Realistically, this weekend will be a bit more difficult for us, but it’s also a Sprint weekend: if we manage to do things very well right from the first laps and if the car is in the right condition from the first lap of free practice, it could make a big difference. On paper, this doesn’t seem like it will be our best circuit, but things can still turn in our favor. We are extremely motivated to prove everyone wrong regarding expectations. After all, I think if we compare this season to last year, we’ve done a great job in maximizing points and minimizing the damage. I don’t think it was like that before; we were much more vulnerable, and that led us to suffer from emotional ups and downs. Now we are a stronger team, and we’re moving in the right direction: I think it’s been a positive season".
Charles Leclerc’s season could end with second place in the Drivers’ Championship (matching his best career result). To achieve this, the Monegasque driver needs to recover 21 points against Lando Norris:
"In the end, I always say that second place is the first of the losers. You can never get too excited about second, third, or fourth place, but in a season like this, it would have a lot of meaning because I don’t think it’s been an easy season. The priority remains the Constructors’ Championship, but a second-place finish in the Drivers’ Championship would be a nice bonus. It would be positive to finish second after a season like this".
After the controversy over his pass on Charles Leclerc at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Carlos Sainz Jr. stated that he didn’t want to talk about the race incidents on camera. However, he later did so, following a candid (perhaps heated at times) conversation with the Monegasque driver. A true clarification behind closed doors, naturally orchestrated by Team Principal Frederic Vasseur. Indeed, Carlos Sainz Jr. speaks about the discussion that took place that week:
"We definitely discussed it, and we reached some conclusions. We’re definitely ready to move on. That race weekend wasn’t very positive for either of us, and now we just want to fight to win the Constructors’ Championship, working together as we have for the past four years".
As highlighted by his teammate, the Lusail circuit doesn’t suit the SF-24’s characteristics, considering the number of high-speed corners:
"Certainly, it’s not our best track on paper. At the same time, Formula 1 always surprises you, the track needs to speak, and we could still come out of this weekend with a positive result. We’ll be cautious, try to prepare to limit the damage, but at the same time, after Sunday, it could be a whole different story. The Constructors’ Championship would be the perfect ending to my time at Ferrari: we’ll push together to make it happen, knowing that McLaren is the favorite and has a 24-point advantage. It’s interesting to see where McLaren and Ferrari were in 2020. They are two historic teams, and they’re back fighting for a championship. I have a lot of respect for them, for their management: I wish them the best in this battle, but obviously with the motivation to beat them".
In a season where, for the first time, four teams have won four races, it stands out that the only driver from the top four teams who hasn’t won a race this season is Sergio Perez. The Mexican driver’s performance this year has again been severely lacking during the mid-season, and despite his continuous contract renewals, his future has always been uncertain. Contracts don’t speak against the Mexican driver, but results do: since Red Bull Racing is no longer the technical reference, Checo has failed to reach the podium (he had four podiums in the first five races of the season) and has scored only 67 points in the last 17 Grand Prix. On average, that’s less than an eighth-place finish per race. The results speak against Sergio Perez, but the situation is balanced out by the generous sponsors backing the Mexican driver. However, even money may not save him this time, and his future will be discussed after Abu Dhabi. But during the Qatar Grand Prix press conference, Checo appeared calm on the matter:
"I think, in the end, the team has all the information, and there’s a reason why we extended my contract during the season. We know exactly where we stand in terms of performance, the difficulties, and the problems we’ve had. We are a team, and we’re all working together to overcome the issues and come back to have a much better season than the one we’ve just had. As for whether I can drive for Red Bull in 2025? I’ve been in this sport for fourteen years, and I’ve never talked about my contracts publicly, so I don’t want to comment. I had one of my best starts to the season, with four podium finishes, everything seemed to be going great, but as soon as we got back to Europe, I think our season took a negative turn. Other teams improved, while we seemed to lose our way with the car. There were several weekends where things didn’t go our way, and in others, we had to explore various areas, but you can only do so much work over a weekend. We lost a lot of points, and the season turned out to be very difficult, but sometimes Formula 1 is like that; things don’t always go in your favor. But we’re still here, and we have the optimism that we can turn things around as a team, especially for next year. What would I have done differently? I think it’s difficult to say. The way the car changed meant we had to drive it quite differently. For me, things changed drastically, and it was harder to adapt compared to Max”.
The 2024 season, regardless of the final results in the Constructors’ Championship, hasn’t been a failure for McLaren. The British team has had an impressive growth throughout the year, with a total of five wins secured by Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. The latter entered the battle for the Drivers' World Championship with Max Verstappen, which was mathematically won by the Dutch driver in Las Vegas. However, the consistent results from the British driver, combined with Piastri's performances, were crucial for the team to reach the top of the Constructors' Championship standings. For this reason, McLaren could claim the world title for the first time since 1998. The season could therefore end with celebrations, but for Lando Norris, there’s still one element that the team must work on. The British driver made his Formula 1 debut with McLaren in 2019, and since then, he’s consistently struggled with front graining—a problem that’s never been fully resolved:
"It’s a complaint that’s been bothering me for six years, and we still haven’t managed to fix it or get rid of it from our car. On some tracks, where the rear tires are more critical, we don’t have these issues, but we’ve always been one of the worst teams when it comes to front graining. When we have front graining, we’re not the fastest car, but as soon as it goes away, the situation changes. If we can manage it up to a certain point, we can survive, but in Las Vegas, we couldn’t handle it well enough, and the problems were too severe, and they’ve been just as bad in many other races. There are weaknesses I’ve been talking about for a while, but they’re very difficult to eliminate from the car’s characteristics, so it’s something we’re working on".
Max Verstappen's comments right after securing his fourth world title caused quite a stir and certainly didn’t go unnoticed by Lando Norris.
"In 2024, I would have won the title if I’d been driving for McLaren. And I would have won it much earlier".
The British driver, who indeed had the reference car (though not necessarily the fastest in every race) from Miami onward, felt a hit to his pride. Therefore, he responded to the newly-crowned World Champion, saying:
"He should’ve been a comedian or something like that. He can say whatever he wants. I completely disagree. Max is good, but what he said is not true".
Lando Norris then focused his attention on the Constructors' Championship standings, which currently sees McLaren in the lead with a 24-point advantage, and on the upcoming race in Qatar. According to the McLaren driver, Mercedes would be the favorite for the win, based on what was shown in Las Vegas:
"They were very fast here last year, so they’re definitely the favorites for this weekend. Red Bull did well here last year, as did we, but Ferrari and Mercedes are the most in-form teams right now. I expect a good battle".
The Lusail circuit, however, should favor McLaren more. But Lando Norris adds:
"I hope the situation is a bit more favorable to us than to Ferrari. But Ferrari has solved many of the problems they had last year".
Perhaps the British driver isn’t entirely wrong, since on Friday, November 29, 2024, the fastest driver in the first and only free practice session was Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque driver’s time of 1'21"953, set on Soft tires, was the fastest lap on the Lusail circuit, with an average speed of 238.043 km/h. The previous record belonged to Max Verstappen, who set a time of 1'23"778 during the previous year’s qualifying session, which secured him pole position, with an average speed of 232.858 km/h. The performance was also helped by relatively moderate temperatures. Behind the Ferrari driver (who showed great speed even with Hard tires), the two McLaren drivers were next. Red Bull Racing wasn’t particularly impressive, as they focused more on finding the best strategy for the race rather than on one-lap performance: Max Verstappen was eleventh, while Sergio Pérez set the eighteenth-fastest time. A few hours later, when the Sprint Qualifying begins, Charles Leclerc sets the reference time, clocking in at 1'23"259, with Max Verstappen following closely at just 0.032 seconds behind. Valtteri Bottas is immediately behind the World Champion, ahead of Carlos Sainz Jr. Pierre Gasly is in fifth, before Lando Norris sets a new best time of 1'22"785. Just 0.026 seconds behind the McLaren driver, George Russell is in sixth. Soon after, Valtteri Bottas moves up to fourth. However, the Finnish driver is then overtaken by Kevin Magnussen, while Carlos Sainz Jr. moves into first position. Moments later, Charles Leclerc, with a lap time of 1'22"105, sets a new fastest time. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen moves ahead of Lando Norris, while Pierre Gasly returns to fourth. A few moments later, Lando Norris is back in first position with a lap time of 1'22"021, while Oscar Piastri moves up to third. Lewis Hamilton is eighth, before George Russell manages to move up to second place, matching Lando Norris's time. Esteban Ocon sets the ninth-fastest time, but shortly after, Nico Hülkenberg improves on that, moving up to eighth place. Lando Norris becomes the first driver to break the 1'22"0 barrier, with a lap time of 1'21"356. At the end of the session, Sergio Pérez, Yuki Tsunoda, Esteban Ocon, Guanyu Zhou, and Franco Colapinto are eliminated. In SQ2, Nico Hülkenberg sets the first lap in 1'22"416, leaving Kevin Magnussen 0.5 seconds behind, before Max Verstappen sets a time of 1'22"188. Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz Jr. slots in between the two Haas drivers, while Charles Leclerc sets the fastest time with a lap of 1'22"130. Lando Norris is unable to beat the Monegasque driver's time but manages to outpace Max Verstappen. Oscar Piastri will go on to beat Charles Leclerc's best time, setting a lap of 1'22"050. Subsequently, Max Verstappen, despite a driving error, gets close to Piastri’s time, which is then surpassed by Carlos Sainz Jr., with Charles Leclerc remaining just 0.009 seconds behind the Spanish driver. Mercedes' strategy rewards George Russell, who moves into first place with a time of 1'21"488. Lewis Hamilton, on the other hand, is only seventh.
Lando Norris progresses further, setting a lap time of 1'21"231. Shortly after, Oscar Piastri moves up to third, while Lance Stroll is ninth. Finally, Max Verstappen climbs back to fourth. Fernando Alonso, Alex Albon, Valtteri Bottas, Lance Stroll, and Kevin Magnussen do not make it to the final phase. In SQ3, Carlos Sainz Jr. and Max Verstappen block each other in the first sector of the track, while the two McLaren drivers go out on track a little later. Charles Leclerc takes the lead with a lap time of 1'21"075. However, this time is soon beaten by Lando Norris, who sets a lap of 1'21"012. Oscar Piastri remains over 0.15 seconds behind his teammate's time. Max Verstappen is third, but is soon overtaken by George Russell. The McLaren drivers manage to set a second flying lap but do not improve their times. Carlos Sainz Jr. finishes the Sprint Qualifying session in fourth, followed by Charles Leclerc. The Sprint Qualifying for the Qatar Grand Prix ends in favor of the McLaren team, which is also engaged in the championship battle with Scuderia Ferrari for the Constructors' World Championship title. Lando Norris claims pole position with a time of 1'21"012, immediately followed by Las Vegas Grand Prix winner George Russell, and Oscar Piastri. Further back are the Ferraris, with Carlos Sainz Jr. and Charles Leclerc in fourth and fifth positions, respectively. Lando Norris seems to have reacted well. A positive signal for the entire Woking team, which hopes to win the Constructors' Championship in Lusail, definitively overcoming Ferrari's resistance.
"It's tough because it's a very fast track. In terms of feel, it's probably the fastest circuit of the year. In the last sector, you're really pushing hard. Today was a great qualifying session. Recovering after what happened in Las Vegas is really nice, so we're happy. It was a decent lap, then I made a few too many mistakes in my second attempt, but the goal was pole, so we're happy. The wind plays a big role, but the conditions are much better than last year. It makes it physically challenging but also makes the car a lot faster to drive. I struggled, but other cars were close, giving it everything in the last corner, which is a good achievement. When you feel you're going fast, it means you're really going fast. It's a challenge; it's not easy to put everything together in a lap because the tires aren't perfect at the start, and you don't get the confidence during the lap, but we set up a good foundation in qualifying, and I'm happy with what we did. I want to win every session; the goal is a double podium, and we want to get the maximum points for the Constructors, so we're going to attack. We know it will be a battle, and both Mercedes and Ferrari will be fast, so I don't expect an easy race, but it will be exciting for everyone watching, and we're looking forward to tomorrow".
The qualifying session started without surprises in Q1, except for another elimination of Sergio Perez, which further puts his future at Red Bull Racing in jeopardy, as he ended up in P16 on the grid. The Q2 session was more risky for McLaren, particularly for Oscar Piastri, who had to set his fastest lap just two minutes from the end after a previous attempt was canceled for exceeding track limits. A thrilling finish followed in Q3, with McLaren’s predictions fully confirmed, with George Russell in the front row alongside the two Woking drivers. In the 2023 edition of the Qatar Grand Prix, at the Lusail circuit, Oscar Piastri won his first-ever Formula 1 race, albeit in the Sprint Race. This time, however, in Sprint Qualifying, the young Australian driver was narrowly beaten by George Russell’s Mercedes, who surprisingly claimed second place. The fact that Carlos Sainz Jr. and Charles Leclerc are further back can only make Oscar Piastri and the entire McLaren team smile.
"I’m fairly happy, it wasn’t the fastest lap of my life, but I think under these conditions it’s very difficult for everyone. I’m sure everyone will say that. I struggled at first, but in the end, I found my rhythm, and the margins were very tight. Still, this track is really amazing to drive on. There’s more grip this year compared to last year, so the sensations at high speed are really fun. The conditions weren’t very different from the free practice session: the wind died down, making the car easier to drive, but everything is more manageable than it was 12 months ago. Honestly, it's a fun and amazing track, especially during the high-speed sections - it’s something special".
From the victory at the Las Vegas Grand Prix to the front row in Sprint Qualifying in Qatar, George Russell continues his strong end to the season, as the British driver will start right behind Lando Norris, having posted a time just 0.063 seconds faster than his compatriot, thus spoiling McLaren's potential double front-row lockout. It was a solid performance from George Russell, though there was a risk during the third and final qualifying session, as he admitted after the Sprint Qualifying:
"I think I did a very good job in the fast session. The car was great on this track, which is one of the best. Once you get the rhythm, it’s really fast, I pushed all the way. For the first time in my last lap in Q3, in the fast sector, I almost cooked the engine. I think I lost a little, I had to recharge on the exit because I overdid it. Let’s say it was very technical, but I still had a lot of speed on the exit".
The satisfaction contrasts sharply with the disappointment of his teammate, Lewis Hamilton. The seven-time World Champion, in his penultimate Grand Prix with Mercedes, could only manage P7, a result that effectively rules him out of the victory fight:
"In the long run, we weren’t too bad, but when you’re in this position, it makes it almost impossible to compete for the win. This is the Sprint, I’ll do what I can tomorrow".
Five days earlier, Max Verstappen had celebrated his fourth world title in Las Vegas with numerous drinks and wild parties. Today, in Qatar, the Dutch driver was back to being his usual perfectionist self. The sixth place in Sprint Qualifying at the Lusail circuit certainly didn’t satisfy him, and he didn’t hide his frustration in the traditional post-session interviews. Speaking to the media, the four-time World Champion criticized his RB20 once again, complaining about the poor performance of the car, which left him in only the third row of the grid:
"Honestly, we didn’t have the pace, we were slow. I didn’t have the balance to attack into the corners, the car was unbalanced, so it was really difficult to race here. In the very high-speed sections, we were good, but for everything else, we were bad, and that made it difficult to push. Sixth place is more or less what we deserved, maybe even seventh, and obviously, it's not what we wanted. It will probably be tough to battle with the other cars in the Sprint due to our balance, and for the other qualifying sessions, we’ll see if we can improve the situation, but I don’t expect any big changes. I don’t know if things will work out, but so far, they haven’t been fantastic".
Carlos Sainz Jr.'s day was marked by a fourth-place finish. In both free practice and Sprint Qualifying, the Spanish driver could not go beyond P4: the same result, but with a different significance, as in the afternoon he was over half a second slower than Charles Leclerc, while in the fight for pole position, he finished ahead of his teammate. These are not results that will satisfy Carlos Sainz Jr., who, like Charles Leclerc, struggled with significant understeering, to the point where he was unable to rotate the car in the fast lap (in fact, just seconds before the checkered flag, the Spanish driver had yet to post a valid time).
"Unfortunately, I found myself in a situation where in sectors 1 and 2, Verstappen was ahead of me, and he was warming up his tires, so I had a lot of dirty air behind him. On top of that, the car's balance was off, we had a lot of understeer, so we struggled to turn the car. I couldn’t heat up the tires, and when I tried again, there was still understeer. I still managed to set a lap that was enough for fourth place; it wasn’t easy with the pressure I had, but with the balance so unstable, it was hard to stay within track limits. It went okay, but we need to improve for tomorrow".
After a promising but ultimately illusory FP1, Scuderia Ferrari was brought back to reality by the Sprint Qualifying. The expected performance on track matched what had been anticipated earlier in the week, with McLaren in front and the Maranello cars struggling in the second and third rows. By just a few thousandths of a second, Carlos Sainz Jr. beat Charles Leclerc, but this time the Monegasque driver’s thoughts weren’t on internal team rivalry, but rather the risk of losing crucial points in the Constructors' Championship standings.
"I’m not happy because when you give everything and finish only fourth and fifth, it’s not great, especially considering how important this weekend is for us. I don’t know why the free practice session went far beyond our expectations, while in qualifying we were in line with predictions, so we’ve come back down to earth. After free practice, we had some hope of doing better. But we didn’t. If you look at free practice, we think we could be in the fight for the win, but in qualifying, no. Right now, the most representative session is qualifying, so we’re not in the best position, but you never know. Every race is different when it comes”.
Both McLaren cars will start ahead of Ferrari's SF-24s: not exactly the scenario Frederic Vasseur would have liked to see. The French team principal’s words convey disappointment with the Sprint Qualifying result and the intention to change the setup for both Qualifying and the Grand Prix: still, Vasseur believes the team can challenge McLaren in the Sprint Race.
"We had a much better car in free practice this afternoon, but then we suffered a lot with understeer in qualifying. We lost a lot of time because of that. If we want to be positive, we can say many points will be up for grabs on Sunday. We need to react and be ready for qualifying tomorrow afternoon, and have a good car for Sunday, but it’s true that we were in a much better condition during free practice. As the grip improves, the understeer problem gets worse, and I think there was a huge gap in terms of grip between the afternoon and the evening. The Sprint Race will be in the afternoon, so we should be less exposed than in qualifying, then there will be the qualifying session where we can adjust the setup. As for the race, no one has done a Grand Prix simulation, so we can’t predict whether there will be graining or not".
On Saturday, November 30, 2024: Sergio Pérez and Franco Colapinto, who qualified in 16th and 20th positions respectively, are forced to start from the pit lane because their cars were modified under the parc fermé conditions. All drivers, except for Guanyu Zhou who starts on Soft tires, begin the Sprint Race on Medium tires. At the start, Lando Norris maintains the lead, while Oscar Piastri moves up to second place, overtaking George Russell on the outside at the first corner. Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen both have a poor start, losing several positions. Franco Colapinto has a better start from the pit lane and manages to pass Sergio Pérez. George Russell then attempts an overtake on Oscar Piastri but fails to pass the Australian driver. This situation benefits Carlos Sainz Jr., who closes in on the Mercedes driver. The pace set by the leading duo is quite slow, so the entire field remains tightly packed. Lando Norris tries to prevent Oscar Piastri from losing the DRS advantage, thus helping him defend better from potential attacks by George Russell. On lap 9, the Mercedes driver tries another move on Piastri but still cannot pass him. Four laps later, Charles Leclerc starts putting pressure on Lewis Hamilton, who is in fifth place. The two race side by side for three corners before the Ferrari driver manages to overtake his future teammate. Meanwhile, Lando Norris increases the pace, causing Oscar Piastri to lose the DRS advantage. George Russell attempts another pass for second place but is again unsuccessful. This strategy seems to negatively affect the tire performance of the British McLaren driver, who is then instructed by his team to reduce his pace. This brings the top four drivers within 2.5 seconds of each other. It’s only in the final lap that the standings change: Lando Norris concedes victory to Oscar Piastri. George Russell, in third, finishes less than 0.3 seconds behind the winner. McLaren celebrates an incredibly important double win in the Sprint Race of the Qatar Grand Prix. The British team triumphed with Oscar Piastri, but the true star of the race was Lando Norris, who finished second.
The British driver led all 19 laps of the Sprint Race, also playing an excellent team game by giving DRS to his teammate practically every lap to help him defend against attacks from George Russell, who had been caught out at the start and remained in third position. However, at the finish line, Lando Norris unexpectedly returned the favor that Oscar Piastri had done for him during the Sprint Race at the São Paulo Grand Prix, allowing him to pass and cross the line first. This gesture of unity greatly pleased Zak Brown, who applauded his drivers publicly.
"The overtake on Russell at the start made all the difference for the race. I had a good start but struggled with pace. I damaged my front tire early on and suffered throughout the Sprint. Without Lando’s help, it would have been much harder for me. Securing a one-two finish was fantastic. As for qualifying, the gap here is smaller compared to other tracks. The grip is different, but we’ll push like we did today, make some small adjustments, and work on making the car and driver faster. Pole? It’s achievable. The top six were very close, and there’s little margin for error. Everyone will be giving their all for pole position".
Lando Norris, second at the finish line, added:
"I tried to give DRS to Oscar, even though it’s always tricky. We achieved a one-two and scored the maximum points, which was the goal. We’re happy as a team—we executed everything perfectly. The pace was good; I probably could have pushed more, but I focused on keeping others behind and helping Oscar with George. As for the final swap, I planned it since Brazil. I thought it was the right thing to do. The team advised against it, but I did it anyway, and it worked out. I’m not here to win Sprint Races; I’m here to win races and maybe a championship. This year hasn’t gone to plan, but I’ve done my best. Now, onto tomorrow. The race will be tough, and my neck isn’t thrilled. The track is much faster than last year, making it physically demanding".
George Russell had to settle for third place:
"We got very close to Piastri at Turn 1 several times. It was frustrating because Lando slowed down and gave DRS to Oscar. I understand why they did it, but as a driver, you want to fight and put on a show for the fans. It was a bit irritating, but we’ll take third place. The tires fell off at the end. Lando had great pace, while Oscar slowed down slightly. I would’ve liked to battle Lando to gauge his pace, but I think he had something in reserve".
It’s a tough day for Scuderia Ferrari, as Carlos Sainz Jr. finishes the Sprint Race in fourth place and Charles Leclerc in fifth, after winning a spectacular duel with Lewis Hamilton. With the double victory by Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in the Sprint Race, McLaren makes a potentially decisive strike in the battle for the Constructors' Championship. However, Scuderia Ferrari doesn’t want to give up and instead focuses on its decent tire management - Charles Leclerc set the fastest lap on the penultimate lap of the Sprint Race - to attack in the remaining 19 laps. The goal, as Carlos Sainz Jr. immediately stated after the chequered flag in Qatar, is to improve on single-lap pace, given the difficulty in quickly getting the tires up to temperature.
"The problem is that I don’t see a big weakness with the car in terms of balance. What we lacked yesterday in the first qualifying was finding the right way to get the softer tires to temperature because I’m sure there are one or two tenths we can find if we do everything well and manage to put together a good lap".
Difficulty in warming up the tires was also evident at the start of the Sprint Race, affecting the first lap of the Spanish driver:
"The start was really tough. We had already seen yesterday that we struggle to get the medium tires up to temperature. That’s why I did a very fast formation lap to get as much energy as possible into the tires… But I don’t know if the problem was starting from the dirty side of the grid. What I do know is that I came into turn 1 with sand on the tires and had practically zero grip. I also saw Russell, ahead of me, almost losing the car. Everyone who started on the inside struggled with the lack of grip in the first six or seven corners. After that, I managed to get everything up to temperature, so I could get into Russell’s DRS, but I felt that both he and the McLarens were going a bit faster. I was on the limit, and of course, being stuck in a train of cars with DRS, it was impossible to overtake".
A bright spark in the darkness. That’s how you could describe Charles Leclerc’s overtaking move on Lewis Hamilton, the only excitement in an artificially lit Lusail. In Qatar, the Monegasque driver’s maneuver was the highlight of a Sprint Race that was otherwise soporific, rightly subdued by McLaren to achieve an important double. However, the fifth place can’t be satisfying for the Scuderia Ferrari driver, who now finds himself needing to recover 30 points to Carlos Sainz Jr. Charles Leclerc’s concern is about balancing the pace, which again today seemed promising, with a better starting position, something that will be crucial as the Sprint Race showed how difficult it will be to overtake if you’re stuck in a group of cars using DRS.
"The positive side is that the pace was good, the negative is that we struggled yesterday in qualifying with the soft tire, but I believe we know where we struggled. The older engine? I don’t think it affects us. We know which direction to take, but we still don’t know if it will solve all the issues we had in qualifying yesterday. If we solve them, we’ll be in a good position for tomorrow. It’s going to be really hard to overtake. I had an opportunity to pass Lewis and we were really on the limit, but apart from that, I was struggling to close the gap on the straights. The starting position for tomorrow will be crucial".
After celebrating his fourth World Championship victory, Max Verstappen finished the Sprint Race in eighth position, the last point-scoring position. The Dutch driver didn’t have good pace, as the RB20 was clearly far from the best cars. So, is Red Bull Racing now the fourth-best team in the World Championship? According to Max Verstappen, the RB20 is even the fifth-fastest car on the track, as after passing Pierre Gasly, he couldn’t even close the gap to Nico Hülkenberg.
"I couldn’t even catch Nico (laughs). That says enough about our car. This weekend has been really bad so far. I don’t think I had the pace today to stay with the best. The start itself wasn’t special, it was Lewis who had a really good start. I tried to stay out of trouble, but honestly, I was sliding everywhere. There were many moments when I almost lost the car, which is happening all weekend. There’s no balance going into or through the corners".
The final Sprint Race of the 2024 season was decidedly negative for the Red Bull Racing team, both for the new World Champion and, especially, for Sergio Perez. While the Dutch driver seriously risked finishing outside the points, crossing the line in eighth place, the Mexican driver finished at the very back of the field. A result to forget for Checo, both due to his disastrous start from the pit lane and his return to the pits to change the front wing. There are no positive aspects for the Milton Keynes team. Highlighting the overall disappointment in the Sprint Race is Team Principal Christian Horner, who first talks about the issues Max Verstappen faced:
"We definitely couldn’t get the tires up to temperature. We saw it last weekend, and we saw it here. It’s very unusual for Max to lose positions, not only at the start but also in the first lap. Of course, he was racing in traffic, but the car never showed real pace. We’ll make some changes for qualifying and see what we can do".
Later, the English manager discusses Sergio Perez’s Sprint Race, focusing on the Red Bull Racing team’s objectives for the race and his thoughts on the Mexican driver’s start, where he was stuck in the pit lane and passed by Franco Colapinto:
"Essentially, on a day when we wouldn’t have scored points with him, it was better to gather as much data as possible. That’s what we did. We have some data to analyze before the next session. Hopefully, we can make good use of it. I need to talk to him. It seemed like he was a bit caught off guard. And of course, Colapinto passed him. However, we managed to gather some useful data from Checo in that race. We even managed to change the front wing and got good feedback, which we hope to use for this afternoon".
Closing on a decidedly downbeat note is the long and successful career of Lewis Hamilton with Mercedes. The British driver, who won six of his seven world titles with the Brackley team, will move to Ferrari in 2025, and these races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi are his last with the Anglo-German cars. However, results haven’t been kind to the champion from Stevenage on the Lusail track: after finishing seventh in the Sprint Qualifying, Lewis Hamilton couldn’t do better than sixth place in the Sprint Race. Once again, the British driver paid the price in his direct battle with teammate George Russell, who started second in the Sprint Race and finished third behind the two McLarens. Talking to journalists after the Sprint Race in Lusail, Lewis Hamilton seemed quite downcast. This feeling was also expressed after Friday’s session, when he said he simply felt slow. The future Scuderia Ferrari driver seems eager to turn the page on his Mercedes experience and begin a new chapter in his sporting life.
"I don’t have an answer, but at this point, I don’t care. I just want to get through the next two races, do my job, show up on the grid, and then get to the winter break. I woke up this morning, and I think the most important thing is to leave with gratitude. I’m really grateful to do what I love, even on days when I don’t like it so much, and I’m really lucky to be here among all these extraordinary athletes".
When Q1 for the Qatar Grand Prix Qualifying begins, the drivers are quite slow to enter the track. Valtteri Bottas sets the first reference time, which is beaten by Lance Stroll. The Haas drivers complete two laps to warm up their tires, as does Sergio Pérez. Behind Lance Stroll, Fernando Alonso places himself, while Charles Leclerc slots in between the two Aston Martins. Later, Lando Norris moves into first place with a time of 1'22"029. This time is beaten by Max Verstappen, who becomes the first driver to go under 1'22"0. Oscar Piastri is just under 0.1 seconds behind Lando Norris' time. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton enters the ranking with the fourth-fastest time, while Valtteri Bottas follows him. George Russell does even better, setting a time of 1'21"519. Later, Carlos Sainz Jr. sets the fourth-fastest time, Sergio Pérez is seventh, while Lando Norris is second. The Aston Martin drivers confirm their speed: Lance Stroll is fourth, while Fernando Alonso is third, just 0.089 seconds behind George Russell. The Alpine drivers manage their Soft tire usage, choosing to enter the track only 8 minutes before the end of Q1: Pierre Gasly moves into fifth place, while Esteban Ocon is in 20th. Charles Leclerc meanwhile moves up to fourth, just 0.111 seconds behind George Russell. Lewis Hamilton, taking advantage of the slipstream from his teammate, moves up to sixth. Later, Carlos Sainz Jr. climbs into second place, while Max Verstappen is fourth, and George Russell improves his time again. With 3 minutes left in Q1, seven drivers are separated by just 0.2 seconds. With a time of 1'21"278, Charles Leclerc beats the time set by George Russell. Carlos Sainz Jr. also improves, but remains in third. At the end of Q1, the battle for the fastest time goes to George Russell, who sets a time of 1'21"241. Alex Albon, Liam Lawson, Nico Hülkenberg, Franco Colapinto, and Esteban Ocon are eliminated. At the start of Q2, George Russell sets the fastest time, posting a 1'21"161, leaving Carlos Sainz Jr. 0.3 seconds behind. Shortly after, Oscar Piastri manages to position himself ahead of Carlos Sainz Jr., but not ahead of George Russell, while Charles Leclerc remains behind the Australian driver. Lewis Hamilton, 0.433 seconds behind George Russell, is in fifth place. Max Verstappen then sets the fastest time, with a lap of 1'21"085, while Sergio Pérez records the fourth-fastest time.
Soon after, the Mexican driver is overtaken by Lando Norris, who is very quick in the first sector. Oscar Piastri also improves his time, staying just 0.036 seconds behind Max Verstappen. Shortly after, Carlos Sainz Jr. exits the pits and narrowly avoids colliding with Lewis Hamilton. Meanwhile, George Russell beats Max Verstappen's time by just 0.001 seconds. A little later, Carlos Sainz Jr. also comes within 0.001 seconds of another time, that of Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque driver returns to third place, while the battle for the top spot swings back to Max Verstappen, who posts a 1'21"049. The first driver to complete a lap under 1'21"0 is Lando Norris, who beats the Red Bull Racing driver's time by 0.066 seconds. Kevin Magnussen, after setting the fastest first sector, finishes in sixth place. Shortly after, Charles Leclerc moves up to second, while George Russell climbs to fourth, and Carlos Sainz Jr. to sixth. Fernando Alonso moves up to seventh, Lewis Hamilton to fifth, while Max Verstappen beats everyone with a time of 1'20"687. Pierre Gasly, Guanyu Zhou, Valtteri Bottas, Yuki Tsunoda, and Lance Stroll do not make it into the third phase. In Q3, Kevin Magnussen finishes his first attempt with a time of 1'21"500. Then it’s Carlos Sainz Jr.'s turn to complete his lap in 1'21"042, before Charles Leclerc sets the benchmark at 1'20"885. Meanwhile, George Russell, Oscar Piastri, and Lewis Hamilton complete two warm-up laps before attempting to set their best times. Shortly after, Sergio Pérez moves up to fourth, while Fernando Alonso climbs into third position. However, the Spanish driver’s position is canceled after his time is invalidated for exceeding track limits. Meanwhile, Lando Norris abandons his first attempt due to a driving error. George Russell is able to beat Charles Leclerc’s time with a new best time of 1'20"575.
Oscar Piastri is in fourth place, before Lewis Hamilton climbs to third. Max Verstappen, who is closing in on George Russell’s time, is 0.045 seconds slower. Lando Norris returns to the track with several minutes left in the session, aiming to complete two fast laps. However, his first attempt is unsatisfactory, as the British driver struggles to get his tires properly warmed up. After another slow lap, Lando Norris tries his only quick lap. Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz Jr. posts the fifth-fastest time, and although Charles Leclerc improves, he remains in third. The Monegasque driver is soon overtaken by Oscar Piastri, who is then overtaken by Lando Norris. Only Max Verstappen is able to improve on George Russell’s time, securing pole position. After being completely excluded from the list of potential winners of the Qatar Grand Prix all weekend, Max Verstappen surprisingly clinched pole position with a fantastic lap in Q3, beating Mercedes' George Russell by 0.055 seconds, who continues to be in exceptional form. This marks Verstappen's first pole position since June, when he started in P1 at the Austrian Grand Prix. The McLarens didn’t shine as brightly as in Sprint Qualifying but still secured the second row, with Lando Norris in third and Oscar Piastri in fourth. Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. secured P5 and P7, respectively, with Leclerc ahead in the third row, and Sainz in the fourth. In between them was Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes. Completing the top ten were Fernando Alonso, Sergio Perez, and Kevin Magnussen. However, there is controversy over a possible impeding incident involving Max Verstappen and George Russell during the British driver's out-lap. While the stewards investigate, Verstappen shared his thoughts:
"Thanks to the team for giving me a more connected car. This helps me push better. We changed a bit on the car, but we didn’t expect such a big swing in performance. This is promising; I hope it can be repeated tomorrow in the race. We seemed more stable on the dry lap, and that's what we needed. I’m happy to be on pole; it’s been a while. The race will be physically tough, and tire management will be key. The front left tire wears a lot here, so we need to manage it carefully. We’re all close, and now it seems we’re in the mix with Mercedes, McLaren, and Ferrari”.
George Russell, who qualified second with his Mercedes, said:
"I'm on a great qualifying streak. I’ve been in the first row for the last four qualifiers, something I could only have dreamed of a few races ago. My first lap was one of my best ever. For some reason, I didn’t find the same speed on my second run, and Max beat me in the end. The car has been great all weekend. Was I blocked by Max? I ended up on the gravel, and the floor scraped the curb, and I hope it didn’t get damaged. It wasn’t an ideal situation just two corners into the lap. We’ve had some good races lately, and the pace is good this weekend too. But we’re all close. It’s great to be fighting for the top positions. It’s good to see Max fighting again too. They seemed far off yesterday”.
Ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix qualifying, McLaren seemed to be the most likely team to secure pole position or at least a spot on the front row, thanks to the characteristics of their MCL38, which is well-suited to the Lusail circuit. However, these predictions were not met, with Max Verstappen posting the fastest lap and George Russell finishing second, still in excellent form after pole positions in Las Vegas and Sprint Qualifying in Qatar. McLaren took solace in locking out the second row, with both of their drivers, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, securing strong positions. After their Sprint Race double, which extended McLaren's lead over Ferrari in the standings, Lando Norris posted the third-fastest time, just ahead of Piastri.
"We didn’t struggle with any unexpected issues. I think we did a good job yesterday and today, more so than the others, who didn’t perform as well. We had everything equal between yesterday and today; it’s clear that others did a better job today. Even if it won’t be necessary, I want to win and score as many points as possible tomorrow. That will be the goal, but it won’t be easy. If the pace is the same as today, we won’t have the speed to win, but I hope the race pace will be better than the qualifying pace”.
Despite the Sprint Race double win, Lando Norris hopes that the race pace won’t be the same as in qualifying, as Oscar Piastri also admitted:
"We’re in a good position compared to Ferrari. We also have other cars starting ahead of them, which is obviously a positive. The race will be long; there are opportunities for overtaking, and DRS is very powerful here, so we’ll see, but I don’t think it’s all decided yet. I don’t think our race pace is better than our qualifying pace. On this track, you push a lot even in the race, and you go full throttle, so the qualifying pace is somewhat similar to race pace, but we’ll see. I don’t expect something radically different from today".
Charles Leclerc was Ferrari’s best qualifier, securing P5 in Q3, just 0.023 seconds behind Oscar Piastri’s McLaren. The Monegasque driver reflected on the prospects for the race, saying:
"As we saw in the Sprint, it’s really hard to overtake here. A lot will depend on tire management, but today we were one of the best teams in that area. The others have also made progress, so we’ll see tomorrow, but we’re not in a bad position. I’m comparing myself more to McLaren than anyone else; Red Bull Racing and Mercedes are really difficult to understand. They struggled in the Sprint but were very fast in qualifying. Compared to McLaren, we were slightly faster in the Sprint”.
Carlos Sainz Jr. will start from the fourth row of the grid for the Qatar Grand Prix. The Spanish driver could only manage P7 in qualifying, in a session marked by the surprising resurgence of Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen’s performance, along with George Russell continuing his excellent form in fast laps. Behind them, McLaren reaffirmed their status as favorites, while Ferrari’s cars faced some struggles, as they had also in Sprint Qualifying and the Sprint Race itself.
"It seems we’ve found our limit; we couldn’t improve any more than this”.
The Spanish driver was 0.5 seconds off Verstappen’s pole time and 0.3 seconds behind Lando Norris. Charles Leclerc was the quickest Ferrari driver, finishing P5 with a lap just under 0.2 seconds faster than Sainz's.
"I think Charles' time was the best we could have achieved today. In the last Q3 run, I lacked a tow, and without a car in front, I lost 1-2 tenths. We're close on times: those 2-3 tenths we expected to lose before coming here are evident".
So he adds:
"It confirms what we’re missing on a circuit like this. A podium tomorrow? I’d rather not make any predictions today and talk tomorrow. Our race pace is better than our qualifying pace, and today we were able to stay behind a McLaren and a Mercedes. However, Norris could have pulled away if he wanted to. We’ll fight for as many points as possible, knowing from the start that this isn’t our track".
Frederic Vasseur’s input to Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. is clear: attack, but with caution. The starting positions for the Qatar Grand Prix do not satisfy anyone, and the Verstappen-Russell front row further diminishes Ferrari’s hopes of gaining points. Nevertheless, the French team principal does not want overly aggressive starts, reminding his drivers that the key to success is finishing the race with both cars, both in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
"We must avoid making mistakes, and we know that if we want to reach our goal, we need to finish the races with both cars, which is the most important thing. We’ll have the opportunity to apply pressure until the end of the race and will stick to our approach, but nothing more. It won’t be over until the last corner of the last race. Everyone is trying to get the most out of their setup, but you can’t make radical changes between qualifying and the race. Tire management was crucial, which is why there were big time differences from lap to lap. Tomorrow will be another story, and it’s certainly not the result we expected. We’re a tenth off McLaren, but we’ll keep pushing tomorrow because we’ll have good opportunities. We know we have to finish ahead of them to keep the pressure on and keep the championship alive, but we’ll see tomorrow. We need to focus on ourselves, do our best, and not overreact - this race will be long, and it will be completely different from today’s Sprint".
The Qatar Grand Prix has two faces - at least for now - within the Mercedes team. While George Russell is always competitive and battles at the top in every session with the McLarens, Max Verstappen, and Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton is struggling to extract any kind of performance from his W15. The seven-time World Champion was 0.4 seconds behind his teammate in the Sprint Qualifying and nearly 0.5 seconds off in Qualifying. These results follow disappointing performances in terms of fast lap times shown in recent Grands Prix, in contrast to George Russell, who has often been competitive. The mood of the future Scuderia Ferrari driver seemed rather down throughout the Lusail weekend. At the end of the day, Lewis Hamilton admits he can't concretely explain the reason behind this period of struggle.
"I don't know how to explain why I'm half a second behind my teammate. This has never happened to me in my entire career, so I don't know how to explain it. What I can say is that the car genuinely feels good to me. There's not much else I can say. I've given absolutely everything. The laps felt good, but when I crossed the finish line, I was slow".
A penalty position. This is the decision made by the stewards in Qatar against Max Verstappen, who loses his pole position for the Qatar Grand Prix. The pole position now goes to George Russell, who had lost the track battle to Verstappen by just 0.055 seconds. During the out-lap, George Russell arrived at a high-speed section of the track, aiming to respect the delta-time, only to find Verstappen ahead of him, driving slowly on the racing line. Russell had to take evasive action to avoid a collision. The stewards decided to penalize Verstappen because he was above the delta-time limit, as he had been deliberately cooling his tires to bring them to the optimal temperature for another push for pole position, which he eventually achieved. The reason Verstappen slowed down was to allow other drivers to pass and prevent overheating of his tires. The data showed that Verstappen had not respected the delta-time, thus becoming an obstacle for Russell, who was trying to respect it.
Since it was only an out-lap for both drivers, the stewards opted for a single position penalty rather than the usual three-place grid drop. However, before the stewards decided to apply this unusual penalty against the World Champion - somewhere between a reprimand and a three-position grid penalty - the two protagonists of the episode had already discussed it between themselves during the press conference. Already during the conversation in front of the journalists, the differing perspectives on the incident had emerged, with George Russell focusing more on following the delta time imposed by Race Direction. Max Verstappen, on the other hand, was more focused on maintaining a gap from the other cars in front of him that were, in turn, slowing down.
"There were two cars in front of me trying to create a gap, so I had to make space as well, and I knew everyone was doing a slow lap, not a push lap. Then I think George got a bit carried away, he wanted to pass and do the lap. There’s nothing wrong with that. Everyone, of course, tries to get into position to start the lap as best as possible".
But the British driver, fresh off his victory at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, was quick to clarify:
"I was following my delta".
At that point - laughing - came the suggestion in full Max Verstappen style:
"Next time, just overtake and be done with it".
But George Russell ended the discussion by saying:
"I didn’t want to be penalized, because we’re told to follow the delta".
Nonetheless, the two joked about the incident, without showing any significant animosity about what had happened. He will not start from pole position due to the unusual penalty received after the qualifying session for the Qatar Grand Prix. Yet, despite the controversy surrounding the stewards' sanction, it is a fact that the Red Bull Racing car seen in Q3 seemed like a distant relative of the one with which Max Verstappen finished the Sprint Race in eighth place, without even being able to get close to Nico Hulkenberg’s Haas. A transformation from ugly duckling to swan that has few precedents. And it happened within a matter of hours, from the checkered flag of the Sprint Race to the start of Qualifying. A crucial role was also played by the often-criticized Sergio Perez: this was admitted by Max Verstappen himself, who, in the FIA press conference immediately after Q3, revealed that the setup change had been tested by his teammate:
"Yes, we took the first step in that setup direction. And then I’d say we went even more aggressive in that same direction (before qualifying, ed.)".
This situation could therefore, at least in part, explain Sergio Perez’s mistake at the start of the Sprint Race, when the Mexican driver left the pit lane too late and was overtaken by Franco Colapinto. Checo later explained that he deliberately started slowly in order to create a gap from the cars ahead and drive in clear air to assess the effectiveness of the setup changes:
"Yes, I did it on purpose. Colapinto was in more of a hurry than me, while for us (gaining positions, ed.) was not the priority. The main goal was to drive as much as possible in clean air to gather more information on the setup changes".
On Sunday, December 1, 2024, at the start of the Qatar Grand Prix, Max Verstappen moves into first position, passing George Russell. The Dutch Red Bull Racing driver is soon challenged by Lando Norris, who, however, doesn't have enough pace to take the lead. The race is neutralized by the Safety Car due to a series of incidents at the back of the grid. Esteban Ocon collides with Nico Hülkenberg, and the French driver ends up hitting Franco Colapinto’s car. Shortly after, Lance Stroll hits Alexander Albon and spins out. Only Ocon and Colapinto are forced to retire immediately from the race. After four laps under Safety Car conditions, racing resumes with Oscar Piastri managing to pass Charles Leclerc. The standings now show Max Verstappen in first place, followed by Lando Norris, George Russell, Oscar Piastri, and the two Ferrari drivers. Lance Stroll, penalized for the start incident, retires after ten laps. Later, Lewis Hamilton also receives a five-second penalty for a false start. After about twenty laps, Lando Norris stays close to Max Verstappen, while George Russell is more than five seconds behind his compatriot. They are followed by Oscar Piastri, 1.1 seconds behind Russell, and Charles Leclerc. On lap 24, Russell is the first to pit, but he is slowed down by a less-than-perfect stop. Meanwhile, on the main straight, a rearview mirror from Alex Albon's Williams is left on the racing line. Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz Jr. pit on lap 35, followed by Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, and Charles Leclerc in the next lap. Shortly after, Albon's rearview mirror is hit by Valtteri Bottas, scattering debris on the track. As a result, both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz Jr. suffer tire punctures from running over the debris. The race director sends the Safety Car back onto the track. George Russell takes advantage of the situation and makes his second pit stop. At the restart, Lando Norris attempts to pass Max Verstappen but fails, as does Oscar Piastri, who can't get by Charles Leclerc. Meanwhile, Sergio Pérez spins off, and Nico Hülkenberg runs off into the escape road. The Safety Car is deployed for the third time.
At the next restart, positions remain unchanged: Max Verstappen is still followed by Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri, and George Russell. Soon after, the race director gives Lando Norris a 10-second Stop & Go penalty for failing to respect the double yellow flags waved on the main straight to slow the drivers due to the debris. Lewis Hamilton is also penalized again, this time with a drive-through penalty for exceeding the speed limit in the pit lane. In the final laps, Carlos Sainz Jr. tries to pass Pierre Gasly for fifth place but is unsuccessful, while Lando Norris makes a swift comeback and re-enters the points zone. At the end of a crazy race, decided also by some questionable decisions from the Race Direction and the stewards, Max Verstappen wins the Qatar Grand Prix. The race at Lusail was dominated by the Dutch driver, who withstood the pressure from Lando Norris for long stretches. Norris stayed within two seconds of Verstappen for many laps but was never close enough to attempt an overtaking move on his friend-rival, except during a restart behind the Safety Car. Then, the controversial penalty imposed on the British driver (a 10-second Stop&Go penalty for not slowing under yellow flags) ruined Norris' race and opened new opportunities for other drivers: Charles Leclerc, who won the duel with Oscar Piastri that lasted almost the entire race, finished in second place. This result sets up an exciting showdown for the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi. Ferrari has gained 9 points in the Constructors' Championship over McLaren, thanks in part to Carlos Sainz Jr.'s P6 finish—just behind George Russell and Pierre Gasly at the line—and the fact that Lando Norris, despite setting the fastest lap, couldn’t finish higher than 10th. Points also went to Fernando Alonso, Guanyu Zhou (his first points of 2024, as well as for the Sauber team), and Kevin Magnussen. Max Verstappen said after the race:
"It was a great race. Already yesterday in qualifying, the car was performing better. In the first stint, Lando and I were super fast: we were always about a second and a half apart. We kept pushing each other the whole time on track. The circuit had a lot of grip, the tires held up well, and it was fun to push to the limit. We ran long in the first stint, then there were a couple of Safety Cars to manage and some restarts, but I’m very happy. It’s been a while since we’ve been this competitive in dry conditions. I’m proud of the team; turning things around in one day wasn’t easy. For them, it’s a very deserved victory. The restart battle? With the hard tires, you lose grip, and behind the Safety Car, you can’t warm them up. I tried something different, but I didn’t have rear grip, and it was hard to find traction. We had fun. Abu Dhabi? It’s hard to make predictions. We’ve been competitive there in recent years, so hopefully, we can be again".
Max Verstappen didn’t take kindly to the penalty he received at the end of qualifying for the Qatar Grand Prix. The Dutch driver was demoted by one position on the starting grid because he obstructed George Russell. The four-time World Champion was driving slowly on the racing line. Neither of them was on a fast lap, of course, because otherwise, the penalty would have been almost automatic for Max Verstappen.
"I hope my penalty doesn’t set a precedent because at this point, I don’t know how we’ll handle laps when we’re not on a fast lap. I tried to explain my position, but it was like talking to a wall".
The Dutch driver also made harsh comments about George Russell, who is the spokesperson for the GPDA. These remarks were confirmed and repeated in the post-race press conference.
"He’s lost my respect. He acts all friendly in front of the cameras, but then he's a different person with the Stewards. I can’t accept that. He did everything to make sure I got penalized. I’ve been in those rooms many times with many other drivers, but I’ve never seen behavior like this from one driver towards a colleague".
The penalty of just one position on the starting grid didn’t change the outcome of the Grand Prix. In fact, Max Verstappen started the race even angrier than usual, immediately taking the first position from George Russell and then maintaining the lead from the first to the last lap without (almost) ever risking losing it. Despite what his rival Lando Norris criticizes the most about the FIA’s decision, the World Champion continued to talk about the grid penalty even after the chequered flag.
"I hope the FIA hasn’t set a precedent with my penalty. If this is the direction they want to go, I honestly don’t know what we’ll do during the tire cooling laps. The thing is, I was very calm in qualifying, it’s the end of the season and I didn’t want to impede or annoy anyone. It wasn’t worth fighting there; I wanted to avoid ruining anyone’s lap".
Finally, Max Verstappen criticized the stewards' decision to penalize him, even though George Russell wasn’t on a flying lap but was also cooling his tires, with the risk of setting a precedent for the future:
"I did my lap and in the end, I get penalized. Then I tried to explain my point of view, but it was like talking to a wall, so it doesn’t matter. I closed the issue and focused on today’s race. I was very determined to get a good result".
Charles Leclerc couldn’t have asked for more. In a Grand Prix that started off on the wrong foot (he unsuccessfully asked to change his balaclava because the system that allows the driver to drink wasn’t working), the Monegasque driver managed the Medium tire well during the first stint. He then took advantage of favorable incidents to climb up the ranks from fifth place: George Russell’s pit stop mistake, Lando Norris’ penalty, and the overtake on Oscar Piastri allowed the Ferrari driver to finish the race in second place. Some Ferrari fans or Leclerc supporters may have complained about the initial tire management, which was strongly recommended by race engineer Bryan Bozzi. However, Charles Leclerc executed the race plan perfectly, and after the chequered flag, he applauded the agreed strategy:
"I don’t think we were conservative with the tires, in fact, I think we were really perfect. Unfortunately, today the issue wasn’t tire management or strategy, but the pace, which simply wasn’t there".
So he adds:
"When that happens, you have to make the most of what you have, and I think we did that well. I’m very satisfied with today’s race. You can never be 100% happy when you finish second, but I feel like everyone expected to leave this race with a bigger points gap to McLaren, and instead, it went the other way. I think this is a good sign; we’ll still be fighting in Abu Dhabi, and we’ll do everything to win this title. We need to win and take a 1-2 finish. It’s a shame for Carlos, we could have been second and third. I think it’s a good year to win in Abu Dhabi; I had never won in Monaco, and I did it this year, and I’ve never won at Yas Marina, so I hope it will be my first win there this year".
Finally, the Ferrari driver dismissed the heroics narrative about racing without water:
"Of course, it’s always better to have it. Last year, I wouldn’t have finished the race, but this year it was much cooler. Dehydration wasn’t a big issue".
Carlos Sainz Jr. couldn’t smile after the Qatar Grand Prix, despite his sixth-place finish helping Ferrari stay in the fight for the Constructors' Championship, which will now be decided at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Carlos Sainz Jr.’s race was incredibly difficult: the Spanish driver suffered a puncture caused by debris from Alex Albon’s mirror, which had been hit earlier by another car. Further problems arose during the pit stop, and in the final laps, Carlos Sainz Jr. couldn’t shake off the presence of Pierre Gasly’s Alpine in front of him. Even the first Safety Car period didn’t help him.
"Obviously, I’m not happy with what happened, because in the end, I had to do a full lap with a puncture and lost a lot of time. Then I stopped, and we had a very slow pit stop, and when I came out of the pit lane, the Safety Car came out, so all the others benefited from it except me. Sometimes, races go like this. Today, we were in a good position to score a lot of points, but everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. Thank God nothing happened to Charles, and at least he was able to do his best today. This allows us to go to Abu Dhabi and still fight. Obviously, we’ll need a special race, where we take a lot of points and McLaren scores few, but we’ll try and we’re in a good position".
Oscar Piastri:
"It was a complicated race. The cars ahead had a similar pace, and it was very hard to get into the DRS zone and try to overtake. I had a couple of nice duels with Charles on track. I’m happy to finish on the podium, but it’s not the result we were hoping for. I don’t understand why they penalized Lando, but it was certainly a heavy penalty. It will be an exciting finale, and we hope to be strong in the last race. We need to do everything we can to close the deal. The track was faster this year, so physically, the race would have been tougher. But this time, the car wasn’t like a sauna due to the temperatures, which made things easier for us. It was one of the most fun races of the season".
The key moment of the Qatar Grand Prix was undoubtedly the heavy penalty imposed on Lando Norris for failing to slow down under yellow flag conditions. The British driver, whose infraction was initially noticed by Max Verstappen, who was ahead of him on track and noticed an unusual time gain by the McLaren driver, had to serve a 10-second Stop & Go penalty, which dropped him from P2 to P14. His recovery to P10, with the fastest lap, earned him a few points in the standings, but his penalty significantly spoiled the day for McLaren. Without Norris’ second-place finish, the Woking team not only failed to gain any points over Ferrari but actually lost 9 points. This situation gives a faint hope to the Maranello team as they look ahead to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
"I don’t know what I did wrong, I’m not an idiot. If I had seen there was a yellow flag, I would have slowed down. But if there was one and I didn’t see it, it’s fair that I take the penalty. The rule says if you don’t slow down, you deserve a penalty. The team gave me a great car, and I’m disappointed I couldn’t give them the results they deserved. I let them down".
The very harsh penalty imposed on Lando Norris in the final stages of the Qatar Grand Prix for failing to slow down under yellow flag conditions is sure to spark prolonged debate. The 10-second Stop&Go penalty is certainly a sanction that disappoints the McLaren team. This situation did not sit well with the team principal of the Woking-based squad, Andrea Stella. However, the Italian engineer did not deny the mistake made by Lando Norris at the end of the race:
"We checked the data, and indeed, Lando continued to push. We also have to say that the sector turned yellow as soon as he entered, but the regulation's requirement is very clear. You need to lift off the throttle, it’s the driver’s responsibility when there’s a yellow flag to reduce speed. At the same time, I think it's quite peculiar that they displayed the yellow flag and then removed it, even though the situation in that sector was still the same. There was debris, they displayed the yellow flag, and then, a few seconds later, the yellow flag was gone (even though, in reality, the debris had not been cleared). It was an unfortunate incident. That said, I also think that in the application of the penalty, any sense of proportion was lost".
The penalty imposed on Lando Norris may seem disproportionate, but in reality, it is consistent with previous cases and with the seriousness - from a safety perspective - of the infraction committed by Norris. It is no coincidence that the McLaren driver was also handed three penalty points, the maximum allowed by the regulations for a single violation. In justifying the penalty, the stewards were very clear, emphasizing how Lando Norris did not slow down and how the double yellow flags were clearly visible.
"The telemetry and onboard audio clearly showed that the driver of car #4 did not reduce his speed at all in the sector with the yellow flags. The double yellow flags and the yellow lights were clearly visible. Adhering to the yellow flag rules is essential for the safety of all parties involved, and this requirement is clearly outlined in the first point of the race notes from the race director at every event".
Halfway through the season, Scuderia Ferrari still seemed to be in the race for the Constructors' World Championship for purely arithmetic reasons, as McLaren was only a few points away from sealing the title with one race to spare. However, the penalty to Lando Norris for failing to respect a yellow flag changed the course of the season, and Scuderia Ferrari managed to recover 9 points on McLaren, now going into Abu Dhabi with 21 points to make up - a still safe gap for McLaren, but not enough to turn the final weekend into a simple formality for the British team. Ferrari Team Principal, Frederic Vasseur, commented on a race in which Charles Leclerc raced without being able to drink, and saw Carlos Sainz Jr. suffer a puncture after running over debris caused by Alexander Albon’s wing mirror loss, a mirror that was later inadvertently destroyed by Valtteri Bottas:
"First of all, the rules are black and white - the penalty (to Norris, ed.) is that, and there's no discussion. Regarding the mirror, it could have been imagined that they could have deployed the VSC earlier to remove the mirror and make things less dangerous. This happened when Charles was approaching Bottas. Bottas went to the right and destroyed the mirror. It's a shame for us, for Carlos, and for Lewis. It would definitely have been better to deploy the VSC and clear the track, but it's easy to say that with hindsight. They didn’t expect something like this to happen because it was off the racing line, but when you go for an overtake in Turn 1, you're on the racing line. As for strategy? Our plan was to not push for the first 7-8 laps. That was executed very well by Charles and Carlos so they could push a bit later".
So he adds:
"We brought forward the pit stop with the Safety Car and the puncture, but I believe the plan was good and the strategy was well-executed by both drivers. Switching to the medium tires under the Safety Car? We wanted to be sure we could push until the end. With the mediums, we probably would have needed a slow introduction, and then you never know. A pit stop is never without risks and there can always be issues, as we saw with others (like Russell today, ed.). So, when there's no clear direction, it's better to stay out. Now we’re still alive behind McLaren, and that means everything is still possible. We’ve also increased the gap over Red Bull, so that means we can focus much more on the teams ahead, and that’s a positive. On paper, Abu Dhabi is a bit better for us, but with Max still in the race and Mercedes having good pace, you never know what the outcome will be. We’ll push like crazy until the end of the race and we’ll see".
In conclusion, in Abu Dhabi, Esteban Ocon and Alpine could part ways a race early. In Lusail, the French driver was barely present at the start, having been knocked out in the opening corners by Nico Hülkenberg. Thus, a weekend to forget came to a sad close, with a P14 finish in the Sprint Race and last place on the grid for the Qatar Grand Prix. After the opening-lap incident, the future Haas driver thanked the team for all their efforts throughout the year, implying that this might be his last race with Alpine and that the decision had been made in advance. However, a team spokesperson emphasized that there were no official comments from the squad. Jack Doohan, Alpine's reserve driver, could replace Esteban Ocon, and he will indeed take over from the French driver next season.