Norris hands Piastri Qatar Sprint win

Oscar Piastri led a McLaren one-two finish in the Qatar Sprint after pole-getter Lando Norris handed his teammate the lead on the final lap. Norris made the decision to switch places exiting the final corner of his own volition as payback for …

Oscar Piastri led a McLaren one-two finish in the Qatar Sprint after pole-getter Lando Norris handed his teammate the lead on the final lap.

Norris made the decision to switch places exiting the final corner of his own volition as payback for Piastri handing him victory in the Sao Paulo sprint last month, when he was still in contention for the drivers’ championship.

Norris nailed his start from pole to hold the lead into he first turn, but front-row starter George Russell was challenged by Piastri, starting third. The Australian took the Briton side by side around the outside into the first turn before scything down his inside into Turn 2 for a McLaren dream start to the race.

By then Norris had bolted, however, capitalizing on the scrap behind to put 1.2s on the field by the end of the first sector, leaving Piastri vulnerable to the slippery Mercedes behind.

Russell made an attempt to take back the place on lap 4, using DRS down the main straight to draw up to the back of the McLaren, but Piastri was aggressive in closing the door into he Turn 1 right-hander.

“He just f***ing turned into me,” Russell fumed, though the stewards took no notice of the move.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1388]

By now the threat to the one-two finish was clear, and Norris was asked to slow to keep Piastri within range of his DRS as a defensive play against Russell, neutralizing the Mercedes driver’s own DRS advantage. The slowed pace brought Sainz into the fold, having held fourth off the line, but prevented any changes of position in the DRS train.

The enforced ceasefire was briefly broken on lap 14, when Norris stretched his legs to set what was then the fastest lap of the sprint and pulled 1.4s clear of the pack again. Russell attempted to seize the chance with another DRS-assisted move down the inside, but again he found the door firmly shut.

“F*** me that was late — twice now,” he complained, but with no ensuing action from race control.

The Briton had one more opportunity on the final lap, when Piastri again fell behind the leader, but again he couldn’t force an error, forcing the Mercedes driver to closely follow the leaders home around the lap.

It was with him just 0.6s behind Piastri that Norris decided to hit the brakes out of the final corner to pull off a finely judged switch in a show of gratitude for his teammate doing the same in Brazil.

“It was probably a bit closer [with Russell] than what I was wanting,” he said. “But I planned to do it since Brazil. It’s just what I thought was best.

“It was probably a little bit sketchy. The team told me not to do it, but I thought I could get away with it, and we did.

“We scored a one-two. That’s what we were aiming for today. We got maximum points. We’re happy as a team. We executed things perfectly.”

Piastri credited his teammate for helping him defend second place through the race to secure the one-two finish.

“It was about defense for the whole race, to be honest,” he said. “I had a good start and a good Turn 1 but then didn’t quite have the pace. I think I killed the front a little bit early on. I was struggling a bit for the rest of the Sprint.

“Some great teamwork. I think without that help it would’ve been a much more difficult Sprint.”

Russell was frustrated to be thwarted by McLaren’s team game to finish third ahead of Ferrari teammates Sainz and Charles Leclerc in fourth and fifth.

Leclerc had dropped behind Lewis Hamilton on the first lap but barged back past with a gutsy exchange on lap 13, diving down the Briton’s inside into Turn 1 and then hanging around his outside through Turn 2 to complete the move. It limited the damage done to Ferrari’s constructors’ title hopes to six points, its margin to McLaren now 30 points.

Hamilton finished sixth ahead of Nico Hulkenberg, who scored two valuable points for Haas’s hold on sixth in the title standings.

Max Verstappen finished an uncompetitive eighth after losing three places off the line and recovering only one from Pierre Gasly.

Gasly finished ninth ahead of Kevin Magnussen to complete the top 10, with Fernando Alonso, Valtteri Bottas, Lance Stroll, Esteban Ocon and Alex Albon.

Liam Lawson lost seven places on the first lap to finish 16th ahead of teammate Yuki Tsunoda.

Franco Colapinto finished 18th after overtaking Sergio Perez at the pit lane exit, both having started off the grid following overnight set-up changes.

Zhou Guanyu gambled on the soft tire and was forced to pit on his way to 19th, while Perez finished 20th after a pit stop for a new front wing.

Perez blames SQ1 exit on Leclerc fight

Sergio Perez says being caught in a fight with Charles Leclerc on his final flying lap cost him enough time to be knocked out in SQ1 at the Qatar Grand Prix. The Red Bull driver was already close to the drop zone when he started his final attempt, …

Sergio Perez says being caught in a fight with Charles Leclerc on his final flying lap cost him enough time to be knocked out in SQ1 at the Qatar Grand Prix.

The Red Bull driver was already close to the drop zone when he started his final attempt, but had Leclerc on his inside on the run to the first corner. Perez managed to stay ahead around the outside and continue his lap but his improvement wasn’t big enough to pull him clear of danger and he ended up being eliminated by just 0.013s.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1388]

“Unfortunately we left a little bit late,” Perez explained. “We had an issue with one of the anti-roll bars, and then to get my final lap we were all opening gaps and then Charles came and we were fighting into Turn 1 and so on, so we lost a couple of tenths there.

“It was enough to be knocked out, which was a shame because I thought we really progressed with the car from P1 to qualifying — we had a lot more potential and it’s a shame that we just ended up here.”

Starting from 16th in a Sprint race that doesn’t feature any pit stops, Perez admits it’s unlikely he will be able to pull himself into points contention, with only the top eight cars scoring.

“I think it’s going to be very difficult. For now we will focus on the rest of the weekend,” he said. “In such a short race I don’t think there will be a lot that we can do. But yeah, we will try.”

It also wasn’t a particularly strong session for newly crowned world champion Max Verstappen in the other Red Bull, as he qualified sixth for the Sprint and feels his weekend is likely to be a struggle.

“Just no pace, to be honest,” Verstappen said. “Too slow — I just don’t really have the balance to attack. Entry to mid-corner the car is just a bit off, so that makes it really difficult around there. The very high speed is OK, but everything else is not OK and that makes it just difficult to push. I think P6 is more or less where we should be, maybe even P7 actually, but that’s of course not where you want to be.

“The Sprint, probably it will be tough to fight the cars around me just with the balance I have in the car. Then for the other qualifying, let’s see if we can improve the situation a bit, but I don’t suddenly expect it to be turned upside down and then it works. It’s not been amazing, let’s say it like that.”

Norris claims Qatar Sprint pole ahead of Russell

Lando Norris will start from pole alongside George Russell for the Qatar Sprint race after a tight qualifying session in Lusail. In a session during which most drivers set two flying laps on soft tires, Norris had to rely on just one after he …

Lando Norris will start from pole alongside George Russell for the Qatar Sprint race after a tight qualifying session in Lusail.

In a session during which most drivers set two flying laps on soft tires, Norris had to rely on just one after he spoiled his second attempt with a scrappy first sector. It left him vulnerable to McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri, who started his second tour with a purple first sector but faded over the lap.

Russell then emerged as his closest challenger, and from pit lane Norris watched the Mercedes driver set three personal best sectors but fall just 0.063s short. Norris thus scraped through for his second Sprint pole of the year following his P1 start in China.

“It’s tough because it’s so quick around here,” he said. “It feels like the quickest circuit of the year — the finals sector feels like you’re just hanging on. Great qualifying today, especially to bounce back from where we were last time out in Vegas, it was a nice thing to do.

“It was a decent lap. I made too many mistakes on my second, but we came here to get pole and we did that, so job done for today.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1388]

Russell’s front-row start matches his best Sprint qualifying result of the year following his front-row start at Circuit of The Americas.

Piastri, last year’s Qatar Sprint pole-getter and winner, will line up third after lapping 0.159s slower than his teammate.

Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc were closely matched just over 0.25s off pole, the Ferrari cars fading the longer qualifying continued after topping practice earlier in the day.

Max Verstappen will line up sixth ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the second Mercedes.

Pierre Gasly lad the three-car gaggle of midfielders inside the top 10, beating Nico Hulkenberg by 0.11s. Liam Lawson qualified 10th, losing a place after having his fastest time deleted for exceeding track limits.

Fernando Alonso will start the Sprint 11th ahead of Alex Albon, Valtteri Bottas, Lance Stroll and Kevin Magnussen in the Dane’s Sprint qualifying comeback after missing the Sao Paulo weekend due to illness.

Sergio Perez was the first driver eliminated in SQ1, taking 16th place on the grid. It’s the Mexican’s first bottom-five qualification for a Sprint this year, though he’s been knocked out of Q3 twice in the last three grands prix.

Perez’s 0.013s margin to 15th is at least partly down to a strange run-in with Leclerc on his final flying lap. The two drivers powered down the front straight side by side both attempting to set a fast lap, with Leclerc attempting to overtake him down the inside of the first turn. Perez was pushed wide before Leclerc relented and abandoned his lap, leaving the Red Bull driver with a first sector 0.115s slower than his personal best.

Yuki Tsunoda was a frustrated 17th, unhappy with RB’s run plan, ahead of Esteban Ocon, who isn’t running Alpine’s new front wing for a lack of spares.

Zhou Guanyu qualified 19th ahead of Williams rookie Franco Colapinto.

Technical updates: 2024 Qatar Grand Prix

Only two teams have brought upgrades to the Qatar Grand Prix as Formula 1 enters the final two rounds of the season. Qatar is the second of three consecutive race weekends and also a Sprint event that tends to limit the number of updates introduced. …

Only two teams have brought upgrades to the Qatar Grand Prix as Formula 1 enters the final two rounds of the season.

Qatar is the second of three consecutive race weekends and also a Sprint event that tends to limit the number of updates introduced. With just one practice session before Sprint qualifying later on Friday night, the majority of teams are sticking with their existing car designs, with the main development focus now on 2025.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1388]

Alpine is one of the two teams to deliver new parts in Qatar, with a focus on the front end of the car. A new front wing features reprofiled elements that the team says are focused mainly inboard and “offers a better flow management as well as local load gains through the car operating envelope.”

There’s also a new nose from Alpine that is shorter than its previous design to work in conjunction with the new front wing, that features a detached first element that is no longer in contact with the nose.

The only other upgrade comes from Stake Sauber, and is also a front wing tweak. The team says it is a trimmed-down version of the current front wing design, that gives it a wider balance range that it can work within.

Leclerc leads Norris in Qatar GP practice

Charles Leclerc beat Lando Norris to top spot in an intriguing practice hour at the Qatar Grand Prix. The sole practice session got underway at sunset in Lusail, with Ferrari tipped to struggle relative to the other top teams around the circuit’s …

Charles Leclerc beat Lando Norris to top spot in an intriguing practice hour at the Qatar Grand Prix.

The sole practice session got underway at sunset in Lusail, with Ferrari tipped to struggle relative to the other top teams around the circuit’s high-speed swoops after the Italian team opted to run an alternative program: Whereas the bulk of the field burned up a set of medium tires to simulate race pace, both Ferrari drivers used up on of their two sets of hard tires in a competitive stint that saw Carlos Sainz and Leclerc top the order.

The switch to soft tires in the final 10 minutes revealed that pace to be genuine, at least in practice trim. Leclerc set two flying laps good enough for top spot, finding enough grip on the evolving circuit to put himself 0.136s and then a whopping 0.435s ahead of McLaren’s Norris by the end of the session, including the fastest time in the final sector.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1388]

Norris was fastest in the first sector, but by less than 0.1s, and he shipped significant time to the scarlet car around the rest of the lap. However, he set only one flying lap on the soft rubber before switching back to mediums to conclude the hour.

Norris was shadowed closely by teammate Oscar Piastri, who was just 0.047s further back despite losing time dropping two wheels into the gravel at Turn 6. Both McLaren drivers struggled throughout the session to keep their cars on track on a windy evening on the Persian Gulf.

Sainz complete the top four, though he was 0.582s slower than his teammate after his two flying laps. McLaren leads Ferrari by 24 points at the top of the constructors’ championship.

There was a big gap behind the top two teams, with Yuki Tsunoda 1.092s off the pace in fifth for RB ahead of a surprise top-six inclusion for Stake Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas, who ended the hour with the fastest time in the middle sector on a lap after the checkered flag. He displaced Lance Stroll, George Russell, Alex Albon and Lewis Hamilton to the bottom of the top 10.

Max Verstappen was 0.025s outside the top 10 despite getting in a clean lap on softs. He was only 0.014s quicker faster than Fernando Alonso, with Nico Hulkenberg completing a tightly packed nine-car group by being just 0.2s slower than Tsunoda.

Liam Lawson was 14th ahead of Pierre Gasly, the Alpine driver setting his quickest lap on medium tires, Kevin Magnussen, Zhou Guanyu and Sergio Perez, who was 2.086s off the pace and 0.826s slower than Verstappen.

Franco Colapinto was 19th ahead of Esteban Ocon, who also set his fastest lap on mediums after having lost around half the session in his garage with a mechanical problem at the front of his car.

Norris refutes Verstappen’s McLaren claim: ‘He should start doing comedy’

Lando Norris has suggested Max Verstappen “should start doing comedy” after the newly crowned world champion said he would have won the title earlier in a McLaren. Verstappen secured his fourth drivers’ championship in a row in Las Vegas last …

Lando Norris has suggested Max Verstappen “should start doing comedy” after the newly crowned world champion said he would have won the title earlier in a McLaren.

Verstappen secured his fourth drivers’ championship in a row in Las Vegas last weekend, and when interviewed afterwards he said he thought he would have won the title even earlier in a McLaren this season, and similarly so in a Ferrari. However, Norris gave the idea short shrift when the comments were put to him ahead of this weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix, where McLaren can win the constructors’ title.

“He should start doing comedy or something,” Norris said. “He can say whatever he wants. Of course, I completely disagree, as I would. He’s good, but, yeah, it’s not true.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1388]

Despite disputing Verstappen’s claim, Norris said the fact that Sergio Perez hasn’t ever seriously challenged him doesn’t necessarily help the Dutchman’s chances.

“There’s pros and cons,” he said. “He has to do all his work on his own, which is hats off to him. He doesn’t have someone who’s pushing him; he doesn’t have someone who’s trying other things with the car and you can’t do A to B tests and things like that, because the data’s not as valuable when you don’t have someone who is performing at the same level.

“So there’s a lot of things that Max can do that are phenomenal. Driving at the level he does consistently without a teammate that can push him in any way certainly makes his life harder from that perspective. Also from a team perspective.

“But at the same time, there is no pressure — he doesn’t have to deal with trying to beat someone in his own team and that comes with some comfort. But they go together and in some ways I like having a bit of pressure because it makes me do a better job. I’m sure he’s going to say he doesn’t care, whoever his teammate is he’s not going to mind. There’s pros and cons of having a strong teammate and I hope at some point he has one that can challenge him a bit more.”

Norris believes Red Bull would have done the championship double if Perez was able to perform closer to Verstappen’s level, rather than opening the door for McLaren to be favorite with two races to go.

“Red Bull probably would have won the constructors’ if they had two drivers as good as Max, that’s for sure,” he said. “That’s clear. That’s obvious. It shows that as a team they’ve still probably done the best job.

“Max has proved with everybody that he’s gone up against, he’s beaten. That’s tough for any teammate. It’s got nothing to do with me. I don’t care. He can have any teammate he wants.”

Racing on TV, November 29-December 1

All times Eastern; live broadcasts unless noted. Friday, November 29 Qatar GP practice 8:25- 9:30am Qatar GP Sprint qualifying 12:25-1:30pm Saturday, November 30 Qatar GP Sprint 8:55- 10:00am Qatar GP qualifying 12:55-2:00pm Sunday, December 1 Qatar …

All times Eastern; live broadcasts unless noted.

Friday, November 29

Qatar GP
practice

8:25-
9:30am

Qatar GP
Sprint
qualifying

12:25-1:30pm

Saturday, November 30

Qatar GP
Sprint

8:55-
10:00am

Qatar GP
qualifying

12:55-2:00pm

Sunday, December 1

Qatar GP

9:30-10:55am
pre-race
10:55am-
1:00pm
race

Las Vegas

5:00-6:00pm
(D)

Qatar GP

8:30-11:00pm
(R)

Key: SDD: Same day delay; D = delayed; R = Replay

FIA WEC is available on Max’s B/R Sports Add-On in addition to Motor Trend. Check your streaming provider for air times. You can also watch all sessions live via the FIAWEC.TV app.

MotoGP is now airing live on TruTV and Max’s B/R Sports Add-On. Check your streaming provider for air times which are subject to change

A variety of motor racing is available for streaming on demand at the following sites:

MAVTV.com

Magnussen expects Qatar to be F1’s ‘hardest race of the year’

Kevin Magnussen says the Qatar Grand Prix is likely to be the hardest race of the year due to the nature of the circuit and potential weather conditions. Last year was Formula 1’s second visit to race in Qatar, but the first time with the new …

Kevin Magnussen says the Qatar Grand Prix is likely to be the hardest race of the year due to the nature of the circuit and potential weather conditions.

Last year was Formula 1’s second visit to race in Qatar, but the first time with the new generation of cars. The high-speed circuit is already a physical challenge but racing in October made for high temperatures and humidity that led to a number of drivers struggling to complete the race. This year the temperatures are set to be lower, but Magnussen says the schedule and track layout combine to really test the drivers.

“Qatar is the hardest race of the year, probably,” Magnussen said. “It’s super high-speed, and unique in the sense that it’s more like a motorbike track rather than a Formula 1 track. It’s got a very particular flow to it — you’re never really braking in a straight line, you’re more kind of sailing.

“It’s the final Sprint of the year, so that’s always another thing to think about, and the time zone change is going to be a challenge. Last year it was the opposite way around — we went from Qatar to America — and honestly it’s hard to figure it all out as it’s pretty hard to adjust. You can’t find a way around it, it just takes time, so we’re going to be jet-lagged!”

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1388]

Nico Hulkenberg’s performance coach Martin Poole admits there is little that can be done about the significant time zone swing, with the race at Lusail starting at 7pm local time — the equivalent of 8am at the last race venue in Las Vegas.

“Qatar is one of the most physically demanding tracks we visit,” Poole said. “The ambient temperature is very hot, which we saw last year, but as we’re returning a few weeks later hopefully it will be a bit cooler. It’s still going to pose a big physical challenge for the drivers; it’s physical anyway, but with the heat it’s very difficult.

“It’s going to be very important to stay very well hydrated and we’ll be using all the cooling methods that we have available to us, such as the traditional ice bath, iced towels, making sure he’s drinking lots of cool drinks and staying out of the heat whenever possible.

“Moving from Vegas to Qatar timing-wise will be difficult — there’s no easy way to do it so we’ll do the best job we can to get into a good sleep pattern as soon as we get to Qatar. Nico’s quite good at sleeping well and finding time in the day to nap if he needs to, so I’m sure we’ll get through it.”

FIA revisiting Hamilton penalty from Qatar

The FIA is revisiting the penalty handed out to Lewis Hamilton for crossing a live racetrack at the Qatar Grand Prix. Hamilton was originally summoned for crossing the circuit at Turn 1 after his collision with teammate George Russell on the opening …

The FIA is revisiting the penalty handed out to Lewis Hamilton for crossing a live racetrack at the Qatar Grand Prix.

Hamilton was originally summoned for crossing the circuit at Turn 1 after his collision with teammate George Russell on the opening lap of the race, with Russell then emerging from the pit lane after stopping for repairs shortly after Hamilton had reached the inside of the circuit. According to the stewards report, “He then continued to walk alongside the track until finally exiting the track.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1388]

The stewards hand out a non-driving reprimand and a €50,000 fine ($52,500) – of which €25,000 ($26,125) was suspended until the end of the season – after Hamilton “was very apologetic and realized that the situation could have been very dangerous for him as well as the drivers approaching”.

However, that decision is now being re-examined by the governing body, as it looks into its safety penalty standards as a whole.

“The FIA is revisiting the incident in which Lewis Hamilton crossed a live track during the Qatar Grand Prix,” an FIA spokesperson said.

“The FIA notes that Lewis was apologetic during the subsequent Stewards hearing in to the incident and acknowledged that the crossing was a serious safety breach. However, in view of his role model status, the FIA is concerned about the impression his actions may have created on younger drivers.”

RACER understands the intention of the investigation is to identify whether future similar infringements could be penalized with harsher penalties, but it is unclear if that means a precedent will be set via a revised punishment for Hamilton.

Aston Martin has ‘suspicions or indications’ of what’s causing Stroll slump – Krack

Aston Martin needs to understand why Lance Stroll has been struggling so much of late compared to the first part of the season, says team principal Mike Krack. Stroll was still suffering from the effects of his pre-season cycling accident when he …

Aston Martin needs to understand why Lance Stroll has been struggling so much of late compared to the first part of the season, says team principal Mike Krack.

Stroll was still suffering from the effects of his pre-season cycling accident when he raced in the opening rounds but picked up three top-six finishes in the opening seven rounds, and added to that with double-points in the Baku Sprint weekend. Since then, though, the Canadian has picked up a total of 12 points from 10 races – and just three in the past eight – with Krack keen to analyze the cause of his drop-off in form.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1388]

“It was interesting that he was much more competitive (in the race), he was actually quite happy with the car – happy always being relative, that’s clear,” Krack said. “But we have to understand why he was much, much closer in the beginning of the season and he was a little bit further away now. Is this related to how the car has changed over the season and how it will develop for the next races?

“We had quite difficult conditions in terms of wind gusts and the track not being very good. (On Sunday) it was very hot but there was much less wind and the track also cleaned up a lot more, so this is something we need to understand if there is a relationship between these.”

Stroll is being spoken to by the FIA about his conduct in Qatar, where frustration at another Q1 exit on Friday spilled over and he pushed his performance coach while not following protocols to get weighed. The driver himself believes the car has developed characteristics that are not to his liking as Aston Martin has introduced upgrades during the year, and Krack says experiments need doing to understand where that might be the case.

“I think we need to prove it first. The fact is that he has lost a bit of competitiveness and this is something we need to understand. We have suspicions, or indications, and I think this is what Lance is referring to. But we need to make the according changes and see if this is confirmed, if you improve that then he improves as well.”

Krack also noted an improvement from Aston Martin’s overall level of competitiveness in Qatar but says it wasn’t enough to give the team a chance of scoring bigger points.

“I think it was slightly better. To jump in the order I think it was just not enough. I think it was close with Ferrari – it was a little bit better but just not enough to jump a position.”