F1 Grand Prix qualifying results: Hamilton takes Qatar pole
Lewis Hamilton took pole position for the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix at Losail International Circuit, the 20th round of the 2021 F1 World Championship, ahead of title rival Max Verstappen.
Hamilton will start ahead of the Red Bull of Verstappen and his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas after the one-hour qualifying session, which is split into three segments with five cars each being knocked out in Q1 and Q2 before the top-10 shootout of Q3.
Qatar Grand Prix qualifying results: Hamilton on pole from Verstappen
| Cla | Driver | Time | Gap | km/h | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Lewis Hamilton |
 |
1'20.827 | 239.622 | |
| 2 |  Max Verstappen |
 |
1'21.282 | 0.455 | 238.281 |
| 3 |  Valtteri Bottas |
 |
1'21.478 | 0.651 | 237.708 |
| 4 |  Pierre Gasly |
 |
1'21.640 | 0.813 | 237.236 |
| 5 |  Fernando Alonso |
 |
1'21.670 | 0.843 | 237.149 |
| 6 | Lando Norris |
 |
1'21.731 | 0.904 | 236.972 |
| 7 | Carlos Sainz Jr. |
 |
1'21.840 | 1.013 | 236.656 |
| 8 |  Yuki Tsunoda |
 |
1'21.881 | 1.054 | 236.538 |
| 9 | Esteban Ocon |
 |
1'22.028 | 1.201 | 236.114 |
| 10 |  Sebastian Vettel |
 |
1'22.785 | 1.958 | 233.955 |
| 11 |  Sergio Perez |
 |
1'22.346 | 1.519 | 235.202 |
| 12 |  Lance Stroll |
|
1'22.460 | 1.633 | 234.877 |
| 13 |  Charles Leclerc |
 |
1'22.463 | 1.636 | 234.868 |
| 14 |  Daniel Ricciardo |
 |
1'22.597 | 1.770 | 234.487 |
| 15 | George Russell |
 |
1'22.756 | 1.929 | 234.037 |
| 16 | Kimi Raikkonen |
 |
1'23.156 | 2.329 | 232.911 |
| 17 | Nicholas Latifi |
 |
1'23.213 | 2.386 | 232.752 |
| 18 |  Antonio Giovinazzi |
 |
1'23.262 | 2.435 | 232.615 |
| 19 | Mick Schumacher |
 |
1'23.407 | 2.580 | 232.210 |
| 20 |  Nikita Mazepin |
 |
1'25.859 | 5.032 | 225.579 |
| View full results | |||||
What happened in Q1?
Hamilton set the early bar in Q1, lapping in 1m22.019s, two tenths clear of Verstappen. After a poor first run, Bottas went P1 by 0.003s on the same set of soft tyres at his second attempt with 1m22.016s.
Verstappen then took the top spot with a lap of 1m21.996s, 0.02s quicker than Bottas, but Hamilton responded on the very last lap of the session, producing 1m21.901s, to beat his title rival by 0.095s.
Falling at the first hurdle were Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo), Nicholas Latifi (Williams), Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo) and the Haases of Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin.
Qatar Grand Prix Q1 results: Hamilton fastest from Verstappen
| Cla | Driver | Chassis | Laps | Time | Gap | Interval | km/h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton |
Mercedes | 6 | 1'21.901 | 236.480 | ||
| 2 | Max Verstappen |
Red Bull | 6 | 1'21.996 | 0.095 | 0.095 | 236.206 |
| 3 | Valtteri Bottas |
Mercedes | 8 | 1'22.016 | 0.115 | 0.020 | 236.149 |
| 4 | Carlos Sainz Jr. |
Ferrari | 9 | 1'22.304 | 0.403 | 0.288 | 235.322 |
| 5 | Sergio Perez |
Red Bull | 6 | 1'22.398 | 0.497 | 0.094 | 235.054 |
| 6 | Fernando Alonso |
Alpine | 6 | 1'22.422 | 0.521 | 0.024 | 234.985 |
| 7 | Yuki Tsunoda |
AlphaTauri | 6 | 1'22.458 | 0.557 | 0.036 | 234.883 |
| 8 | Pierre Gasly |
AlphaTauri | 8 | 1'22.535 | 0.634 | 0.077 | 234.664 |
| 9 | Sebastian Vettel |
Aston Martin | 9 | 1'22.549 | 0.648 | 0.014 | 234.624 |
| 10 | Lance Stroll |
Aston Martin | 9 | 1'22.551 | 0.650 | 0.002 | 234.618 |
| 11 | Esteban Ocon |
Alpine | 6 | 1'22.565 | 0.664 | 0.014 | 234.578 |
| 12 | Daniel Ricciardo |
McLaren | 8 | 1'22.688 | 0.787 | 0.123 | 234.229 |
| 13 | Charles Leclerc |
Ferrari | 9 | 1'22.742 | 0.841 | 0.054 | 234.077 |
| 14 | Lando Norris |
McLaren | 7 | 1'22.839 | 0.938 | 0.097 | 233.802 |
| 15 | George Russell |
Williams | 10 | 1'22.863 | 0.962 | 0.024 | 233.735 |
| 16 | Kimi Raikkonen |
Alfa Romeo | 9 | 1'23.156 | 1.255 | 0.293 | 232.911 |
| 17 | Nicholas Latifi |
Williams | 10 | 1'23.213 | 1.312 | 0.057 | 232.752 |
| 18 | Antonio Giovinazzi |
Alfa Romeo | 8 | 1'23.262 | 1.361 | 0.049 | 232.615 |
| 19 | Mick Schumacher |
Haas | 9 | 1'23.407 | 1.506 | 0.145 | 232.210 |
| 20 | Nikita Mazepin |
Haas | 9 | 1'25.859 | 3.958 | 2.452 | 225.579 |
| View full results | |||||||
What happened in Q2?
The pole position hunters started this session using the medium tyre, with Hamilton setting the pace on 1m21.682s, three tenths up on Verstappen. AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly got in between them, however, using soft tyres after getting through Q1 on mediums.
The second runs were taken with almost all of the runners on softs, apart from Sainz who didn’t improve but made it through to Q3 anyway. Gasly improved to 0.046s off Hamilton’s P1 time, and Fernando Alonso’s Alpine jumped up to an impressive third.
The big surprise here was Red Bull’s Sergio Perez failing to make Q3, despite switching to soft tyres and failing to dislodge Sainz by 0.105s – blaming it on the timing of the run.
Also knocked out at this point were Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), Charles Leclerc (Ferrari, who reported he had “no idea” what was wrong), Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) and George Russell (Williams).
Qatar Grand Prix Grand Prix Q2 results: Hamilton fastest from Gasly
| Cla | Driver | Chassis | Laps | Time | Gap | Interval | km/h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton |
Mercedes | 6 | 1'21.682 | 237.114 | ||
| 2 | Pierre Gasly |
AlphaTauri | 6 | 1'21.728 | 0.046 | 0.046 | 236.981 |
| 3 | Fernando Alonso |
Alpine | 6 | 1'21.894 | 0.212 | 0.166 | 236.500 |
| 4 | Max Verstappen |
Red Bull | 6 | 1'21.984 | 0.302 | 0.090 | 236.241 |
| 5 | Valtteri Bottas |
Mercedes | 6 | 1'21.991 | 0.309 | 0.007 | 236.221 |
| 6 | Esteban Ocon |
Alpine | 6 | 1'22.012 | 0.330 | 0.021 | 236.160 |
| 7 | Yuki Tsunoda |
AlphaTauri | 6 | 1'22.058 | 0.376 | 0.046 | 236.028 |
| 8 | Sebastian Vettel |
Aston Martin | 6 | 1'22.146 | 0.464 | 0.088 | 235.775 |
| 9 | Lando Norris |
McLaren | 8 | 1'22.216 | 0.534 | 0.070 | 235.574 |
| 10 | Carlos Sainz Jr. |
Ferrari | 6 | 1'22.241 | 0.559 | 0.025 | 235.502 |
| 11 | Sergio Perez |
Red Bull | 6 | 1'22.346 | 0.664 | 0.105 | 235.202 |
| 12 | Lance Stroll |
Aston Martin | 6 | 1'22.460 | 0.778 | 0.114 | 234.877 |
| 13 | Charles Leclerc |
Ferrari | 6 | 1'22.463 | 0.781 | 0.003 | 234.868 |
| 14 | Daniel Ricciardo |
McLaren | 7 | 1'22.597 | 0.915 | 0.134 | 234.487 |
| 15 | George Russell |
Williams | 6 | 1'22.756 | 1.074 | 0.159 | 234.037 |
| View full results | |||||||
What happened in Q3?
On the first run, Hamilton set the pace at 1m21.262s, 0.162s faster than Verstappen’s 1m21.424s and two tenths clear of Bottas’s 1m21.478s.
On the second run, Hamilton unleashed his 1m20.827s, taking pole by 0.455s ahead of Verstappen. Gasly – who was running directly behind Hamilton – then punctured his right-front tyre after smashing a kerb and breaking his front wing.
He ground to a halt before the finish line, causing an intermittent yellow flag in the final sector – causing some drivers to abort their runs. But some drivers, including Verstappen, improved their times.
Bottas will start third, ahead of Gasly, whose opening lap was good enough for fourth, Alonso, Norris, Sainz, Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri), Esteban Ocon (Alpine) and Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin).
Qatar Grand Prix Q3 results: Hamilton takes pole
| Cla | Driver | Chassis | Laps | Time | Gap | Interval | km/h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton |
Mercedes | 6 | 1'20.827 | 239.622 | ||
| 2 | Max Verstappen |
Red Bull | 6 | 1'21.282 | 0.455 | 0.455 | 238.281 |
| 3 | Valtteri Bottas |
Mercedes | 6 | 1'21.478 | 0.651 | 0.196 | 237.708 |
| 4 | Pierre Gasly |
AlphaTauri | 5 | 1'21.640 | 0.813 | 0.162 | 237.236 |
| 5 | Fernando Alonso |
Alpine | 6 | 1'21.670 | 0.843 | 0.030 | 237.149 |
| 6 | Lando Norris |
McLaren | 6 | 1'21.731 | 0.904 | 0.061 | 236.972 |
| 7 | Carlos Sainz Jr. |
Ferrari | 6 | 1'21.840 | 1.013 | 0.109 | 236.656 |
| 8 | Yuki Tsunoda |
AlphaTauri | 6 | 1'21.881 | 1.054 | 0.041 | 236.538 |
| 9 | Esteban Ocon |
Alpine | 6 | 1'22.028 | 1.201 | 0.147 | 236.114 |
| 10 | Sebastian Vettel |
Aston Martin | 6 | 1'22.785 | 1.958 | 0.757 | 233.955 |
| View full results | |||||||
Related video
FIA conducts extra rear wing checks after Qatar F1 qualifying
Verstappen: Red Bull struggling more than normal
Team 18's coin toss chassis allocation
Supercars squad Team 18 used a combination of a coin toss and a ping pong ball lottery to allocate its new chassis to drivers Scott Pye and Mark Winterbottom.
BRT not fazed by Ford aero questions
Blanchard Racing Team isn't fazed about the unresolved Ford aero package ahead of its maiden Gen3 Supercars test at Winton tomorrow.
Australian GP releases more race day tickets
The Australian Grand Prix Corporation has announced a final limited release of race day tickets.
Tickford unveils first 2023 livery
Tickford Racing has unveiled its first livery ahead of the 2023 season with the covers coming off Brad Vaughan's Super2 entry.
Who were the fastest drivers in F1 2022?
Who was the fastest driver in 2022? Everyone has an opinion, but what does the stopwatch say? Obviously, differing car performance has an effect on ultimate laptime – but it’s the relative speed of each car/driver package that’s fascinating and enlightening says ALEX KALINAUCKAS
Nico Hulkenberg: Why F1's nearly man is refreshed and ready for his return
He has more starts without a podium than anyone else in Formula 1 world championship history, but Nico Hulkenberg is back for one more shot with Haas. After spending three years on the sidelines, the revitalised German is aiming to prove to his new team what the F1 grid has been missing.
Why Vasseur relishes 'feeling the pressure' as Ferrari's F1 boss
OPINION: Fred Vasseur has spent only a few weeks as team principal for the Ferrari Formula 1 team, but is already intent on taking the Scuderia back to the very top. And despite it being arguably the most demanding job in motorsport, the Frenchman is relishing the challenge
The crucial tech changes F1 teams must adapt to in 2023
Changes to the regulations for season two of Formula 1's ground-effects era aim to smooth out last year’s troubles and shut down loopholes. But what areas have been targeted, and what impact will this have?
Are these the 50 quickest drivers in F1 history?
Who are the quickest drivers in Formula 1 history? Luke Smith asked a jury of experienced and international panel of experts and F1 insiders. Some of them have worked closely with F1’s fastest-ever drivers – so who better to vote on our all-time top 50? We’re talking all-out speed here rather than size of trophy cabinet, so the results may surprise you…
One easy way the FIA could instantly improve F1
OPINION: During what is traditionally a very quiet time of year in the Formula 1 news cycle, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been generating headlines. He’s been commenting on massive topics in a championship that loves them, but also addressing necessary smaller changes too. Here we suggest a further refinement that would be a big boon to fans
How can McLaren keep hold of Norris?
Lando Norris is no longer the young cheeky-chappy at McLaren; he’s now the established ace. And F1's big guns will come calling if the team can’t give him a competitive car. Here's what the team needs to do to retain its prize asset
What difference did F1's fastest pitstops of 2022 make?
While a quick pitstop can make all the difference to the outcome of a Formula 1 race, most team managers say consistency is more important than pure speed. MATT KEW analyses the fastest pitstops from last season to see which ones – if any – made a genuine impact
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.