Max Verstappen breaks his pole drought with a magical lap in Qatar and Fernando Alonso performs another small miracle

Max Verstappen was not going to finish the season without taking one last pole position. When no one expected it, Red Bull has magically recovered performance in Qatar, and Verstappen was able to achieve a pole position that he had not achieved since Austria. The champion stopped the clock at 1:20.520, 55 thousandths faster than his pursuer.

Behind, Fernando Alonso has performed another small miracle. The Spaniard has not only been able to sneak his Aston Martin into Q3, but he will start from the fourth row of the grid, even ahead of Sergio Pérez’s Red Bull. A magical return that allows Alonso to fight for his last points of the year.

McLaren saves the furniture, leaving Ferrari behind

Verstappen always has an extra life. After a disastrous sprint race, Red Bull has fixed the situation in a matter of hours, allowing Verstappen to take the pole position that had eluded him for twelve races. An uncomfortable guest for more than one in the fight for the constructors’ title.

The most striking thing has been the collapse in performance of McLaren and Ferrari. The only one who has coughed on Verstappen has been again George Russell, who will start second just 55 thousandths from pole. He could even still inherit the first place, since there is a pending investigation into the Dutchman.

The duel between McLaren and Ferrari for the constructors’ championship once again has the papayas as winners. Lando Norris is going to start from third positionand if we believe the sprint race he should be the big favorite for victory, although it seems clear that something has changed, especially in the Red Bull.

But Oscar Piastri will also start in front of the two Ferraris, from fourth place. Charles Leclerc could only be fifth and Carlos Sainz has fallen to seventh positioneven behind Lewis Hamilton. We will see what Ferrari invents so that McLaren does not leave the title sentenced in Qatar.

Little miracle of Fernando Alonsowho with an Aston Martin that is not up to much jogging has gotten into Q3 and then beat Sergio Pérez to start from eighth position. The Mexican will be ninth with the other Red Bull and the last place in Q3 has been for Kevin Magnussen, who will start tenth with Haas.

By the way, when it seemed that Sauber would end the year without points, a last opportunity has arisen for them. The car is going very well at Losail, and Guanyu Zhou and Valtteri Bottas will come out twelfth and thirteenth respectively. The penultimate chance not to close the season with a bang.

Formula 1 GP Qatar 2024 classification results