Hamilton grabs Qatar pole as Mercedes enjoys pace advantage

By Balazs Szabo on

Lewis Hamilton secured his first pole position since the Hungarian Grand Prix in what was another Mercedes-dominated qualifying session. Championship leader Max Verstappen finished second, edging Valtteri Bottas.

Mercedes approached the qualifying session with great confidence after its car has enjoyed a significant pace advantage over the weekend at the new F1 venue in Qatar. Defending champion Lewis Hamilton managed to capitalize on that, taking pole position for the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix, with title rival Max Verstappen lining up alongside him in second.

Results

Pos. No. Driver Car Q1 Q2 Q3 Laps
1 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:21.901 1:21.682 1:20.827 18
2 33 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing Honda 1:21.996 1:21.984 1:21.282 18
3 77 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:22.016 1:21.991 1:21.478 20
4 10 Pierre Gasly Alphatauri Honda 1:22.535 1:21.728 1:21.640 19
5 14 Fernando Alonso Alpine Renault 1:22.422 1:21.894 1:21.670 18
6 4 Lando Norris Mclaren Mercedes 1:22.839 1:22.216 1:21.731 21
7 55 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:22.304 1:22.241 1:21.840 21
8 22 Yuki Tsunoda Alphatauri Honda 1:22.458 1:22.058 1:21.881 18
9 31 Esteban Ocon Alpine Renault 1:22.565 1:22.012 1:22.028 18
10 5 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin Mercedes 1:22.549 1:22.146 1:22.785 21
11 11 Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing Honda 1:22.398 1:22.346 12
12 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin Mercedes 1:22.551 1:22.460 15
13 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:22.742 1:22.463 15
14 3 Daniel Ricciardo Mclaren Mercedes 1:22.688 1:22.597 15
15 63 George Russell Williams Mercedes 1:22.863 1:22.756 16
16 7 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari 1:23.156 9
17 6 Nicholas Latifi Williams Mercedes 1:23.213 10
18 99 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari 1:23.262 8
19 47 Mick Schumacher Haas Ferrari 1:23.407 9
20 9 Nikita Mazepin Haas Ferrari 1:25.859 9


GP Qatarprevious