Max Verstappen took a convincing pole position for the Qatar Grand Prix on a weekend that would have seen him win his third F1 world title.
The Dutchman led George Russell’s Mercedes by 0.441 seconds as he comfortably claimed his 10th pole of 2023 and the 30th of his F1 career.
Verstappen will win his third consecutive world championship if he scores three points in Saturday’s sprint race.
His Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez suffered the latest qualifying shock and will only be ranked 13th for Sunday’s Grand Prix main event after crashing out in Q2.
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton will move third in the standings after both McLaren drivers had their best lap times erased for breaching track limits. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was promoted to fourth, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc also moved up one place to fifth.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri dropped from third to sixth, ahead of Alpine duo Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon.
Valtteri Bottas moved up to eighth in his Alfa Romeo, while Lando Norris dropped to 10th after initially setting a lap time good enough for the front row of the grid.
Perez also exceeded track limits during his Q2 disqualification, leaving him one place behind Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.
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