In Formula 1, the Qatar Grand Prix is coming up. The whole world is watching Max Verstappen as he is on the verge of winning his next world title.
Doha – With a top-6 finish in today's sprint race, Max Verstappen has the chance to secure the title of Formula 1 world champion
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The McLarens will both start from the front row of the grid in the sprint race.
© IMAGO/Zak Mauger
Schedule of the Qatar GP
| Date: | Time | Session |
| Fri., October 6 | 15.30 p.m. | 1. Free practice |
| Fri., October 6 | 19.00 p.m. | Qualifying |
| Sat., October 7 | 15.20 p.m. | Sprint Shootout |
| Sat., October 7 | 19.30 p.m. | Sprint |
| Sun., October 8 | 19.00 p.m. | Run |
Qatar GP grid (race)
| 1. Verstappen | 2. Russell | 3. Hamilton | 4. Alonso |
| 5. Leclerc | 6. Piastri | 7. Gasly | 8. Ocon |
| 9. Bottas | 10. Norris | 11. Tsunoda | 12. Sainz |
| 13. Perez | 14. Albon | 15. Hulkenberg | 16. Sargeant |
| 17. Stroll | 18. Lawson | 19. Magnussen | 20. Zhou |
Grid for the Qatar GP (Sprint)
| 1. Piastri | 2. Norris | 3. Verstappen | 4. Russell |
| 5. Sainz | 6. Leclerc | 7. Hulkenberg | 8. Perez |
| 9. Alonso | 10. Ocon | 11. Gasly | 12. Hamilton |
| 13. Bottas | 14. Lawson | 15. Zhou | 16. Stroll |
| 17. Albon | 18. Tsunoda | 19. Magnussen | 20. Sargeant |
Max Verstappen secures Formula 1 world title in sprint race
History was made today in the sprint race: Max Verstappen won the Formula 1 World Championship. Due to his outstanding performance and the second place achieved, he secured enough points to win the title early.
Sprint in Qatar live: Will Verstappen be world champion today?
Lap 19/19: On the final lap, Norris manages to overtake Russell to secure third place. Piastri may have won the race, but the real hero of the day is Max Verstappen, who secures the Formula 1 world championship with his placing.
Round 17/19: Norris overtook both Ferraris in half a lap to move up to fourth place.
Round 16/19: Verstappen has overtaken Russell and is now in second place.
Round 15/19: The safety car is now taken off the track and the race picks up speed again. Currently, Piastri leads the field, followed by Russell in second place and Verstappen in third. If the positions remain like this, Verstappen will be crowned world champion.
Round 12/19: The crash at the second corner was caused by a chain reaction: Ocon was on the left, Hulkenberg in the middle and Perez on the right. Then Ocon lightly hits the Hulkenberg, and all three cars suffered damage. The race is also over for Hulkenberg.
Round 11/19: Perez, Hulkenberg and Ocon go into the corner in threes... Perez finished the race and Ocon also ended up in the gravel. Both will not compete today and will be the third and fourth race retirements.
Round 3/19: Russell overtakes Piastri and is now first
Round 2/19: The safety car is deployed at the end of the current lap. There is the green flag!
Round 1/19: Lawson is at the end of the second corner and it looks like his race is over. His AlphaTauri car got stuck in the gravel, which meant that the safety car was sent out on track.
Sprint shootout live in Qatar: Who will take pole for the sprint race?
16.06: Subsequently, Alonso's time was cancelled, so he will now only start from 9th place.
Piastri takes pole, 16.04: The final and decisive shootout also concludes dramatically. Several top drivers see their lap times cancelled because they exceeded the track limits. Eventually, Piastri secures pole position with a time of 1:24.454. Surprisingly, Verstappen only occupies third place, while Piastri unexpectedly secures pole position.
15:59 p.m.: Verstappen gets off to a brilliant start in the third shootout and sets a best time of 1:24.543, but this is immediately cancelled due to exceeding the track limits.
15:56 p.m.: The third and decisive part of the shootout has begun, and the Red Bull drivers are making the start on the track.
Sprint shootout in Qatar live: Who's out after Shootout 2?
- 11. Gasly
- 12. Hamilton
- 13. Bottas
- 14. Lawson
- 15. Zhou
15.50 p.m.: At the end of the second part of the shootout, the tension came to a dramatic head: Hulkenberg drove a sensational second purple sector and surprisingly pushed Hamilton into 11th place. While Hamilton was unexpectedly eliminated after the second shootout, Hulkenberg secured his place in the third and final round of the shootout.
15.50 p.m.: After the second part of the sprint shootout, Norris has taken the lead with a time of 1:24:947 and leads the field.In the second part of the sprint shootout, the following drivers have been eliminated: Gasly, Hamilton, Bottas, Lawson and Zhou.
15:43 p.m.: In the second part of the shootout, Norris delivers an impressive time of 1:24.947 to take the lead over Verstappen in the first half of the shootout.
15.40 p.m.: The second part of the sprint shootout has officially started.
Qatar sprint shootout live: Who's out after Q1? The liveticker:
- 16. Stroll
- 17. Albon
- 18.
- 19. Magnussen
- 20. Sargeant
15:32 p.m.: After the first part of the sprint shootout, Russell has taken the lead with a time of 1:25:413 and leads the field.In the first part of the sprint shootout, the following riders have been eliminated: Tsunoda, Albon, Stroll, Magnussen and Sargeant.
15:26 p.m.: Right at the start of the sprint shootout, Verstappen made a clear statement with an impressive lap time of 1:25.510, which is a full 0.849 seconds faster than the currently second-placed Russell.
15:24 p.m.: The sprint shootout gets off to a turbulent start, especially for Mercedes. George Russell is unsure over the team radio and asks how many warm-up laps he should do.
15:20 p.m.: The sprint shootout has officially started and the excitement on the track is palpable.
Breaking News: Sprint Shootout Starts Later, 14:30 p.m.: Due to tyre wear issues yesterday, the FIA has changed the schedule for today in order to fine-tune some details ahead of tomorrow's Grand Prix. The track boundaries for Turns 12 and 13 have been changed, and an additional 10 minutes of practice time have been added for 15pm. This means that the Sprint Shootout has been delayed by 20 minutes and will now start at 15:20.
First report from 07 October, 12.00 noon: Welcome to the live ticker, dear Formula 1 fans! Today, we could witness a historic moment when Max Verstappen becomes the first F1 driver to secure the world title before the main race has even started. It starts in three hours!
F1 qualifying in Qatar: Who will take pole?
20.02: What a misfortune for Norris: his time, which would have been good enough for second place, was cancelled due to track limit violations.
20.00: Verstappen secures pole position with an impressive lap time of 1:23.778.
19:58 p.m.: Two minutes before the end of qualifying, Verstappen is in the lead ahead of both Mercedes drivers.
19:55 p.m.: After slightly obstructing a Ferrari, Norris inquires over the team radio if the Ferrari behind him was on a fast lap. His engineer then apologizes.
19.50 p.m.: Q3 of qualifying has now begun, and the excitement is rising.
F1 Qualifying in Qatar: Who was eliminated in Q2?
- 11. Tsunoda
- 12. Sainz
- 13. Perez
- 14. Albon
- 15. Hulkenberg
19:42 p.m.: It's a big surprise that Sergio Perez was eliminated from qualifying in Q2 after his lap was not counted for exceeding track limits.
19.40 p.m.: After the second qualifying segment, Hamilton set the fastest lap with a time of 1:24.381. It is a big surprise that both Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez have already been eliminated from qualifying in Q2.
19.30 p.m.: Max Verstappen became the first driver to break the 1:25 barrier, setting a lap time of 1:24.758 in Q2.
19:28 p.m.: The second qualifying segment, also known as Q2, has now begun.
Qualifying in Qatar: Who's out after Q1?
- 16. Sargeant
- 17. Stroll
- 18. Lawson
- 19. Magnussen
- 20. Zhou
19.15 p.m.: After the first qualifying session, Max Verstappen set the fastest time with a lap of 1:25.007. Nico Hulkenberg made it to tenth place in qualifying. Bitter for Sargeant, Stroll, Lawson, Magnussen and Zhou - they're out.
19.10: Esteban Ocon has reported via team radio and complained that it is very hot in his car.
19.09: Due to the clearly noticeable track evolution, all drivers will probably be forced to set another lap time.
19.07: After all the drivers completed a fast lap, Leclerc leads the field with a time of 1:26.444
19.06: Lap times are continuously improving as track evolution is clearly noticeable on the track.
Start of qualifying: Qualifying has begun, and on-track conditions continue to be windy and slippery.
Formula 1 practice: Red Bull tests aerodynamics with FloViz
T1 16.30: Qualifying is over and Max Verstappen has set the fastest lap time.
T1 16.10: A small part of the underbody comes loose as Charles Leclerc again struggles between Turns 4 and 5.
T1 15.55: Leclerc calls over the radio and tells his team that the engine doesn't sound good and asks if there's a problem with the engine. He then steers his car into the pit lane.
T1 15.40: Verstappen, Leclerc, Sargeant and Norris seem to have significant problems between Turns 4 and 5; all four drivers went off the track, but without any damage to their cars.
T1 15.35: While Formula 1 connoisseurs may already be familiar with the picture, newcomers might be astonished to see Max Verstappen start practice with VloVizz and his car covered in a yellow liquid. This substance, known as FloViz, is used by the teams to visualize the aerodynamic flow conditions on the car.
First reported on 06 October, 15.30 p.m.: The first practice session for the Qatar Grand Prix has officially started. The drivers are on the track and start to do their first laps.
Qualifying already on Friday:
Normally, qualifying always takes place on Saturday to determine the starting positions for the main race on Sunday. However, since the introduction of the sprint races two years ago, there has been a new weekend structure at some venues. For Grands Prix that include sprint races, qualifying will be moved to Friday to keep Saturday free for the sprint race and the "Sprint Shootout".
What are the rules of the Sprint Shootout?
The Sprint Shootout is a special form of qualification that has been specially developed for the sprint races. It's inspired by the traditional Q1, Q2, Q3 structure, but includes some key changes to make the action on the track more exciting.
The knockout rounds are shorter in the Sprint Shootout than in the traditional qualifying format. The first elimination phase (Q1) lasts only 12 minutes, the second (Q2) 10 minutes and the third (Q3) 8 minutes. This shortening is intended to increase the chances of surprises and increase the excitement for the spectators.
Another difference is the fixed tyre choice for the different phases of the sprint shootout. While medium tyres must be used in Q1 and Q2, teams are allowed to use soft tyres in the final Q3. In addition, new sets of tires must be used at each stage.
All German Formula 1 Grand Prix winners
All German Formula 1 Grand Prix winners
What are the rules of the sprint?
The sprint is a newer element in the Formula 1 race weekend and serves as a kind of "mini-race" that determines the starting grid for Sunday's main race. Unlike the main race, the sprint is much shorter, usually about 100 kilometers long, and lasts about 30 minutes.
In the sprint, teams and drivers have the freedom to choose tyres at their discretion. Interestingly, there is no mandatory pit stop for tyre changes, although teams do have the option to make a stop if they feel it makes strategic sense to do so.
Points are also awarded in the sprint, but in smaller numbers than in the main race. The top eight drivers will receive points according to the 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 scheme. These points count towards both the drivers' and constructors' championships.
Max Verstappen's title chances
In this special race format, Max Verstappen, the current world championship leader, has the opportunity to secure his third world title as early as Saturday. Only three points separate him from the overall victory, which makes the event even more exciting.
Updates on the Qatar GP
Only Alpine has brought in extensive updates in Qatar. The French team has revised its underbody and rear axle and introduced new cooling elements as a test run for the race in Mexico. Apart from that, only Alfa Romeo and AlphaTauri have presented innovations. While the Sauber team presents a revised beam-wing design, AlphaTauri drives with a modified underbody edge.
Category list image: © IMAGO/Zak Mauger