McLaren’s top times canceled
Verstappen drives competition into the ground
October 6, 2023, 8:11 p.m
On the way to his World Cup crown, Max Verstappen is also the benchmark in Qatar. In qualifying for the Grand Prix on Sunday, the Red Bull driver secured his 30th pole position in Formula 1 ahead of McLaren driver Lando Norris and George Russell in the Mercedes.
Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen will start the Qatar Grand Prix from pole position. In qualifying, the Dutch Red Bull driver set the fastest lap in 1:23.778 minutes and was ahead of Briton George Russell, who finished second in the Mercedes, more than four tenths of a second behind, at the Lusail International Circuit. That’s a world apart in Formula 1. The McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri initially thought they were in the top three behind Verstappen, but their times were subsequently deleted.
Verstappen is the favorite going into the World Cup race on Sunday (7 p.m./Sky) and can already claim his 14th victory this year. Under floodlights, record world champion Lewis Hamilton raced to third place on the grid in his Mercedes on the desert circuit in qualifying. The German Nico Hülkenberg drove his Haas racing car to 15th place. The Emmericher was eliminated in the second qualifying section, as were the recently strong Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz (12th) and Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez (13th).
Verstappen can become world champion for the third time in the sprint on Saturday (7.30 p.m./Sky). Three World Championship points or a bad result from World Championship runner-up Sergio Pérez are enough for the defending champion. “It was a good start to the weekend. The surface is slippery, the sand flies onto the track,” said Verstappen. “Of course” he wants to do everything perfectly on Saturday: “The car works here as I hoped.”