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A defiant Lewis Hamilton said he was convinced he “still had it”, adding his pace at the age of 39 was not even “a question in his mind” after qualifying sixth on the grid for Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix. was beaten by Mercedes team-mate George Russell for a 23rd time in 29 qualifying sessions this season ahead of Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix – an astonishing statistic for a driver who, until partnering Russell, had never previously been out-qualified by his team-mate over their time together. But afterwards the -bound driver rowed back on gloomy comments made the previous evening, when, after qualifying seventh for the sprint race in Lusail, he said he was “definitely not fast anymore”. Despite trailing Russell by 0.436sec in qualifying for Sunday’s main race – an even wider margin than it had been on Friday – Hamilton struck a more bullish note, suggesting the major issue was with his car rather than his driving. “I mean I’m slow, about half a second off my team-mate in the same car,” Hamilton said when asked what exactly he had meant on Friday. “It’s been like that all year. [But] I know I’ve still got it. Just the car won’t go faster. But I definitely know I’ve got it, so it’s not a question in my mind.” "Super dangerous by Verstappen" 📻 George Russell was NOT happy with Max Verstappen 😮 — Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) The seven-time world champion – the all-time record holder for pole positions in , with 104 – has been a mass of contradictions in recent weeks. In Brazil earlier this month, Hamilton told his pitwall that he might have raced for the last time for Mercedes, later . At the next race in Las Vegas Hamilton claimed he was “in the best place I’ve been all year mentally”. He showed it in the race, too, surging from 10th on the grid to second behind Russell. It remains to be seen how he fares in Qatar but the gaps between the leading cars are miniscule. Red Bull’s newly crowned four-time world champion took a surprise pole position for Sunday’s race, his first since pole Austria five months ago, just ahead of Russell. It was a stunning result mainly because the Dutch driver had only been able to finish eighth in the sprint race earlier on Saturday when edged towards their first constructors’ title since 1998 with a one-two, Lando Norris pulling over on the final straight to gift Oscar Piastri victory, where the Australian pulled over to help Norris’s drivers’ championship attempt. Verstappen was more surprised than anyone about his pole position for the main race. “Let’s f------ go,” he shouted after crossing the line. “What a turnaround.” “Yabba dabba doo, Max,” replied his team principal, Christian Horner. “That was a first official pole since Austria. That was a mighty lap.” Horner later said the team had “thrown the kitchen sink” at Verstappen’s car, “changing everything we could change”. It worked, Verstappen edging Russell by 0.055sec. However, the Dutchman was called to the stewards for potentially “driving unnecessarily slowly” and impeding Russell in Q3. Russell called the incident “super dangerous”. Norris was third quickest, another two tenths behind Russell. But he will be happy that he and Piastri were both quicker than the Ferraris as McLaren try to wrap up the team’s ninth constructors’ title. Their one-two finish in the sprint race gave McLaren a 30-point lead over Ferrari in the standings. The Woking team need a 45-point lead by the end of this weekend to secure the title, otherwise it will roll on to the final weekend in Abu Dhabi. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz will start either side of Hamilton in fifth and seventh place respectively. Meanwhile, Britain’s was crowned champion in the second season of – the all-female support series run by Formula 1 – after finishing second behind Mercedes’s Doriane Pin in the first race of the Qatar weekend. It was Pulling’s eighth win in 11 F1 Academy races this year. There are still three races remaining this season, with another on Sunday, and two more next weekend in Abu Dhabi. The Alpine driver, 21, secured a fully funded seat in GB3 next year with Rodin Motorsport. “It’s been a tougher season than most people think,” said an emotional Pulling afterwards. “I’ve struggled financially in the past, so to get the prize for next year so early makes me so happy and so proud. I can’t thank the people who have supported me enough – Alpine, Rodin, my family, all the sacrifices my dad made.” She added: “It’s such a weight off my shoulders. I think I go into every winter wondering what I’m going to do next year. I’m going to go into [next season] as hungry as I have this year and make the most of this opportunity. I will leave no stone unturned.” 07:33 PM GMT FIA summon Verstappen to the stewards The driver and team representative are required to report to the Stewards at 23.15, in relation to the incident below: - Max Verstappen Alleged breach of Article 33.4 of the FIA Formula One Sproting Regulations - Driving unnecessarily slowly at 21.58. 07:24 PM GMT Horner on the Russell/Verstappen “I think this is on an out lap where they are all warming tyres up. They are all jockeying for position there. So it wasn’t a timed lap.” Anthony Davidson on Sky suggests that Verstappen should escape punishment. The thing in his favour - heavily - is that it was not on a timed lap. 07:22 PM GMT Christian Horner speaks “We pretty much threw the kitchen sink at it, everything we could change we did change. He was able to really nail it. We really struggled yesterday... those corners [1, 2 and 10] really came alive for us. It’s very windy, the conditions are significantly different - it’s so much cooler. We made some changes to Checo’s car... that gave us a little bit of information and were able to add to that and [make changes] going into quali.” 07:16 PM GMT Not that it is a surprise any more... But that is the 23rd time that Lewis Hamilton has qualified behind George Russell in 2024. Sixth is not a disaster by any means and he was ahead of Perez and Sainz. But again distant from his team-mate. 07:10 PM GMT Verstappen reacts to his first pole since the Austrian GP in June “Yeah, crazy. Honestly I didn’t expect that but well done to the team to give me a car that feels a bit more connect. It felt a lot better out there in qualifying for me. We did change a bit on the car but I never thought it would make such a swing in performance. I hope it lasts tomorrow in the race. It felt stable in one lap... it’s good to be on pole, the first one in quite a while.” 07:09 PM GMT Russell on that Verstappen incident “I ended up going through the gravel, all through the floor. I hope it didn’t damage it. Maybe that’s a reason why we didn’t improve but it was a bit of a hairy one two corners before we started the lap.” You can watch that below: "Super dangerous by Verstappen" 📻 George Russell was NOT happy with Max Verstappen 😮 — Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) So it was as they were starting their hot laps. Hmmm. Not as egregious as if it was on a hot lap but the fact that it was at the end of the lap might be a penalty, but I don’t know for sure. 07:05 PM GMT Verstappen has been noted for going slowly in Q3 And he will be investigated after the session for that. I think that will be a threr-place grid penalty. Either way he should be cheered by a turnaround. Pole positions have not been plentiful for him in the last six months. Pole position #41 for 💪 — Formula 1 (@F1) 07:03 PM GMT Q3 - Classification VER RUS +0.055 NOR +0.252 PIA +0.309 LEC +0.332 HAM +0.491 SAI +0.521 ALO +0.731 PER +0.905 MAG +0.980 07:03 PM GMT MAX VERSTAPPEN TAKES POLE FOR THE QATAR GRAND PRIX Russell does not have the lap time to improve and has to settle for the front row. Hamilton only sixth. Replays show that Russell was baulked by a Red Bull on a hot lap, presumably not their final laps though because they were not on track together. If that was a previous hot lap then Verstappen is in danger and will almost certainly take a penalty. Russell thought it was Verstappen, but was it Perez? 07:01 PM GMT Q3 - Piastri into third What has norris got on his lap? Only third, ahead of Piastri but behind Verstappen and Russell... 07:01 PM GMT Q3 - Not a great first sector from Sainz Leclerc half a tenth down on Russell too. That’s more like it. Sainz 0.307sec off after two sectors so might struggle to improve here. Russell posts the fastest first sector all and Verstappen beats it by half a tenth. Sainz stays fifth... Leclerc stays third... 06:59 PM GMT Q3 - Final runs under way Who has this? I don’t know. Russell has looked strong all session. Pressure on McLaren and in particular Norris, though. 06:58 PM GMT Q3 - Norris is out there again He is a tenth down in the first sector and then backs off. Is he going to go again? He does not have a lap time on the board yet and is putting himself under pressure here. McLaren were 1-2 in the sprint, remember, qualifying first and third. Yet they are currently sixth and ninth... ouch. It’s a recharge/prep lap for Norris before he gets one more go at a hot lap. 06:56 PM GMT Q3 - Verstappen just falls short! He is second behind Russell, 0.045sec off the Mercedes driver. 06:55 PM GMT Q3 - Verstappen with the fastest first sector time He is 0.006sec slower than Russell after two sectors. Whatever they have done to the Red Bull between the sprint and now has worked wonders. 06:54 PM GMT Q3 - Russell fastest in sector one Norris has not be able to match it, in fact a long way off. Not sure that this will be worth finishing this lap for him. Indeed he comes into the pits. Let’s see what Russell does. Fastest! 0.310sec faser than Leclerc. Piastri goes fourth in the McLaren, Hamilton beats him to go third and ahead of Sainz but 0.436sec off his team-mate. No lap from Verstappen yet. Norris nearly lost the rear end of his car at turn five after runnign wide, hence his abortint the lap. He dipped his right wheels into the gravel strip on exit. I’m glad it’s there. 06:52 PM GMT Q3 - A good couple of sectors for Leclerc He crosses the line with a 1:20.885, still a couple of tenths off Verstappen’s best from Q2. Sainz a couple of tenths off that and Perez eight-tenths off it. Everyone else has done an extra preparation lap. 06:51 PM GMT Q3 - Piastri backs off when it looked like he was starting a hot lap That means Russell goes ahead of him but I think Russell too is doing another prep lap. 06:49 PM GMT Q3 begins! 12 minutes to go. Verstappen appears to be in the pole position battle with Russell and Norris here. Ferrari not looking too sharp, I’m afraid. Back out we go. Let's see what we can do. 💪 🇶🇦 — McLaren (@McLarenF1) 06:45 PM GMT Alonso very happy to get into Q3 “Yes, yes, yes, yes,” he says on the radio. It has been a difficult year for him, really, just because the Aston Martin has been a poor car, especially compared to last year’s car. 06:43 PM GMT Q2 - Top 10 VER NOR +0.296 LEC +0.313 RUS +0.382 HAM +0.408 PIA +0.434 SAI +0.512 ALO +0.521 MAG +0.700 PER +0.738 Gasly eliminated by just 0.013sec. 06:42 PM GMT Q2 ends - Verstappen goes fastest at the very end 0.296sec faster than Norris, who did not set a lap time at the end. Gasly, Zhou, Bottas, Tsunoda and Stroll out. Gasly not happy with that. Sauber should be delighted. 11th and 12th. 06:41 PM GMT Q2 - Zhou with a good first sector time Would be surprised if he can make it into Q3 but that would be quite something. Norris out there so thinks his time is good enough, which it surely is. Zhou is half a second up on where he needs to be to make it through to Q3 as it stands... Magnussen improves to sixth... Hamilton into 10th. Zhou just misses out on the top 10. 11th. Stroll does not improve from 14th. Bottas goes 12th, behind Zhou. Hamilton could be eliminated here but let’s see what Alonso can do. He moves into the top 10. Hamilton needs to find something and he does! Into fifth. He’s through. 06:38 PM GMT Q2 - Three minutes remain Russell is not out there, nor is Piastri or Perez. It doesn’t seem like the track is ramping up enormously. Norris has just moved fastest with Verstappen within a tenth. 06:36 PM GMT Q2 - Russell moves fastest But only just, 0.001sec faster than Verstappen. Sainz is only eighth and Hamilton stays ninth... he is in danger, you’d think. Bottas, Zhou, Tsunoda and the two Aston Martins in the elimination zone. 06:33 PM GMT Q2 - Order after the first runs VER RUS +0.076 PIA +0.268 NOR +0.281 PER +0.340 GAS +0.352 LEC +0.361 SAI +0.418 HAM +0.509 MAG +0.689 BOT +0.798 ZHO +0.799 TSU +0.834 STR +1.055 ALO (NO TIME) 06:32 PM GMT Q2 - Alonso makes a mess of his lap He is 0.751sec down and goes over track limits so decides to back out of the lap and goes into the pits. Aston Martin team-mate Lance Stroll goes into 13th only. Gasly into the top six, continuing his fine qualifying showing. Was third last week in Vegas. 06:30 PM GMT Q2 - The Red Bull is looking a bit sharper here Verstappen goes fastest of all by 0.076sec and Perez moves fourth, ahead of both Ferraris. A good turnaround it seems from the Milton Keynes-based team. 06:29 PM GMT Q2 - Russell crosses the line It’s a 1:21.161 which is faster than he went in Q1. Sainz cannot beat that and neither can Piastri, 0.342 and 0.192sec behind him respectively. Hamilton crosses the line more than four tenths down and fifth and last of those who have completed a lap so far. 06:28 PM GMT Q2 - Two Saubers in this session That is surely the first time that has happened this year? Either way a strong showing. They are pointless throughout 2024 and would probably need a few retirements at least for that awful run to end this weekend. But you never know. 06:27 PM GMT Q2 begins! 15 drivers, five to be eliminated at the end of it. 06:25 PM GMT Liam Lawson annoyed “Alonso purposely slowed up through nine and 10 when he aborted his lap. That just sucks man,” he says. “That was Stroll,” he is told. 06:21 PM GMT Q1 - Top 15 RUS LEC +0.037 SAI +0.206 NOR +0.337 VER +0.338 ALO +0.367 HAM +0.396 PER +0.434 PIA +0.580 GAS +0.602 MAG +0.650 BOT +0.686 STR +0.770 ZHO +0.862 TSU +1.123 06:20 PM GMT Q1 ends - Drivers eliminated ALB, LAW, HUL, COL, OCO. 06:20 PM GMT Q1 - Colapinto stays 19th Albon does improve to 15th but I am not sure that will be enough. Ocon stays 20th. Leclerc moves fastest by 0.057sec from Russell. Perez in 13th but moves into the top eight here and will be through to Q2. Lawson and Tsunoda trying to get out of Q1. Can they? Lawson no. Tsunoda yes... for now. He is into 15th. Russell goes faster still. Hulkenberg not troubling the top 15 with his latest lap. 06:18 PM GMT Q1 - Final runs under way It is has been a bit of a struggle for Williams so far with Albon in 18th and Colapinto 19th. Norris has his lap time deleted and moves back down to third. Russell improved his best lap time to a 1:21.335 to stay top. 06:16 PM GMT Q1 - Russell with the fastest first sector HUL, ALB, ZHO, COL and OCO make up the bottom five at risk of being eliminated. Verstappen improves to fourth, Zhou improves to 11th and team-mate Bottas does not improve and stays 14th. 06:15 PM GMT Q1 - Top 10 and gaps RUS SAI +0.049 NOR +0.059 ALO +0.089 LEC +0.111 HAM +0.118 VER +0.194 PIA +0.302 GAS +0.416 STR +0.492 06:14 PM GMT Q1 - Russell on the radio “I’ll give Lewis a tow into turn one,” he says. Does he need it? Well, Hamilton is in ninth at the moment 0.701sec off Russell’s leading time. Hulkenberg improves but only to 15th and then he is knocked down into the drop zone almost immediately as Magnussen moves to 12th in the other Haas. 06:12 PM GMT Q1 - No problems for Ocon’s team-mate Gasly though Sweeeeeeeeettttttt lap Pierre 😎 He's P5... just 0.4s off the fastest 💪 Let's keep this up 💨 — BWT Alpine Formula One Team (@AlpineF1Team) He is looking in fine form over one lap as has been the case for a little while now. 06:11 PM GMT Q1 - Seven minutes remain Ocon crosses the line but stays in final place. Hulkenberg, Magnussen, Zhou, Colapinto and Ocon make up the bottom five. 06:10 PM GMT Q1 - Russell leads Norris Alonso up there in third, Verstappen then Gasly, Stroll, Sainz, Piastri, Hamilton and Perez make up the top 10. 06:08 PM GMT Q1 - Verstappen leads Norris as it stands Hamilton moves into fourth but Russell has posted the fastest first two sectors and then goes to the top of the timesheets by 0.194sec. I think Russell has that Mercedes hooked up this weekend, he is currently seven-tenths faster than his team-mate... 06:06 PM GMT Q1 - What can Sainz do? His sector times were OK but he comes into the pits. Leclerc stays out there and goes second fastest, but behind Stroll. Perez in fourth. Verstappen flying with two purple sectors so far this lap. 06:04 PM GMT Q1 - Every driver on track now as they begin their first push laps Magnussen is the first man to cross the line and he does so with a 1:23.505. Bottas beats that, Zhou doesn’t but then Magnussen has his lap time deleted for a track limits infringement. 06:01 PM GMT Q1 begins! The session gets under way under lights in Lusail. Let's do this... it's time for qualifying! 🚦 — Formula 1 (@F1) 06:00 PM GMT George Russell at the end of the pit lane already This will be a frantic qualifying session and hopefully a fun one. 05:59 PM GMT We are nearly ready to start Three sessions, of 18, 15 and 12 minutes. The first two have five drivers eliminated whilst the final sets the top 10 for the Qatar Grand Prix tomorrow. 05:53 PM GMT Conditions update QUALIFYING: It's 15 mins to Q1, with air temp 19C and the track 22.1C. The northwest wind has continued to decrease through the evening, with gusts in the last hour now only to 12mph. Dry; FIA official risk of rain is 0%. — Ian Fergusson (@fergieweather) 05:48 PM GMT What McLaren need to do to win the constructors’ title this weekend In short score at least 15 more points than Ferrari in the race tomorrow. Here’s a list of McLaren’s titles: 1974, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998 1974, 1976, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2008 It has also been a superb recovery after some dark days around seven or eight years ago. Here are all of their results since 2015, when they switched from Mercedes to Honda power. 2015: 9th, 27pts 2016: 6th, 76pts 2017: 9th, 30pts 2018: 6th, 62pts 2019: 4th, 145pts 2020: 3rd, 202pts 2021: 4th, 275pts 2022: 5th, 159pts 2023: 4th, 302pts 2024*: 1st, 623pts 05:33 PM GMT Drivers’ points scored in the last 10 rounds This does not include this sprint race. Close. Four drivers within one win of one another. Let’s hope we start next season with a similar level of competition. 05:28 PM GMT Just a point for Verstappen in the sprint "It's very bad this weekend so far" 💬 Max Verstappen doesn't think the car has enough pace to keep up with the frontrunners this weekend 👇 — Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) He finished lower than where he started... at least he has the championship wrapped up. Not that he will be happy with how his car is going. 05:18 PM GMT Some news from F2 Oliver Bearman, Ferrari academy driver with a confirmed seat at Haas next year, has just won his third F2 race of the season. That winning feeling! 🙌 It's a third victory of the season for Ollie Bearman 🥇 — Formula 2 (@Formula2) 05:16 PM GMT Watch: The moment Piastri took victory in the sprint race The moment Lando gave Oscar his sprint win back 🤝 — Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) 05:10 PM GMT Current team head-to-head qualifying records Not sure what is more notable, Sergio Perez’s record or Lewis Hamilton’s? 05:03 PM GMT The season cannot end soon enough for LH "I'm looking forward to the winter break" ❄ Lewis Hamilton reflects on his comments from yesterday 🤔 — Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) 04:57 PM GMT Sprint report: Norris hands Piastri victory at the line A “sketchy” move by Lando Norris, pulling over on the final straight to gift team-mate Oscar Piastri victory in the Qatar sprint race, ultimately ended happily for McLaren as they secured a one-two to close in on their first constructors’ title since 1998. Norris’ gesture – payback for Piastri’s assistance in Sao Paulo where the Australian pulled over to help Norris’ drivers’ championship attempt – was actually forbidden by McLaren, who felt the gap from Piastri to George Russell behind him in third, at just 0.3sec, was too tight to risk. But Norris disregarded the instruction from his team as he felt it was “the right thing to do.” “It was probably a bit sketchy,” he said, smiling. “The team told me not to do it but I felt I could. I’ve been wanting to do it since Brazil.” Norris had already helped Piastri stay in P2 by dropping back during the 19-lap race to give him a DRS slipstream. Russell was third, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz fourth and Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton just losing out in a tense battle with future Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc for fifth. McLaren now lead Ferrari by 30 points in the constructors’ championship heading into Sunday’s race. They need a lead of 45 points by the end of the Qatar weekend to wrap up the constructors’ title this week, otherwise it will roll on to the final race in Abu Dhabi next week. 03:09 PM GMT We will be back for the main race qualifying That begins at 6pm so we will be here from around 5pm so just under two hours. Some work to do for a few teams, especially Red Bull. 03:05 PM GMT Verstappen unhappy with his car balance “I just tried to stay out of trouble. I was just sliding everywhere, having a lot of weird moments and weird snaps. No balance on entry, no balance mid corner. I could not even catch Nico [Hulkenberg] really. That says enough for us, it’s really bad.” 03:04 PM GMT McLaren obviously not too bothered that Norris moved over Even if they did not want it to happen at the time. 1-2 in the ! Classy move from Lando to return the favour and give Oscar the Sprint win! 👏 Excellent teamwork throughout to hold off Russell too. We're showing great pace ahead of Quali. Let's keep it up! 👊 — Zak Brown (@ZBrownCEO) 02:55 PM GMT Norris made that decision to let Piastri through on his own, then Throughout the whole race Norris backed up to let his team-mate have DRS to defend from Russell. Team principal Andrea Stella speaks about the situation to Sky Sports F1. “When it comes to the swap at the end, Lando was very willing to return to the favour that Oscar did to him in Brazil. We actually wanted to release the pressure off Lando, but saying that we are happy to finish in this order but Lando managed to find the opportunity to return the favour. “We were nervous on the pit wall because Russell was very close. The drivers when in the car judge a situation more precisely than us on the pit wall. That’s cohesion, that’s unity to be honest I am very proud of Lando and Oscar.” 02:50 PM GMT Updated constructor standings McLaren take another step to the constructors’ title. They now need to increase their lead over Ferrari by 15 points tomorrow to secure the constructors’ title this weekend. A 1-2 tomorrow would confirm that, whatever Ferrari does. Obviously there are many other permutations but it is looking good so far for them. 02:45 PM GMT Updated driver standings 02:43 PM GMT This was great to watch from Hamilton and Leclerc Wheel to wheel stuff between these two future teammates 😅🤏 — Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) 02:41 PM GMT Race winner Oscar Piastri “It was about defence for the whole race to be honest. Just didn’t quite have the pace, I killed the front early on. I was struggling a bit for the rest of the sprint. Some good teamwork... nice to have a McLaren 1-2.” 02:40 PM GMT Norris speaks after his second place “We scored 1-2, that is what we were aiming for today. The pace was good. I think I could have pushed a bit more than what I was doing. We did our job and that’s the main thing. It was probably a bit closer than I thought but I planned to do it since Brazil. The team told me not to do it but I thought I could get away with it and we did. I’m not here to win sprint races, I’m here to win races and the championship, though that’s not gone to plan.” 02:38 PM GMT George Russell reacts after a frustrating third place “It got pretty close in turn one a couple of times. It was so frustrating every lap, Lando backing up every lap to give Oscar the DRS. I understand why they did that.. but it’s pretty infuriating. It would have been good to go head to head with Lando just to see what the true pace would have been.” 02:34 PM GMT Qatar GP sprint - Top eight PIA NOR RUS SAI LEC HAM HUL VER All three drivers within half a second. 02:33 PM GMT OSCAR PIASTRI WINS THE 2024 QATAR GRAND PRIX SPRINT It looks like Norris is going to take the chequered flag first but he moves aside at the line to let his team-mate win! The moment Lando gave Oscar his sprint win back 🤝 — Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) Remember, Piastri let Norris win the sprint in Brazil to help Briton’s drivers’ title attempt. Either way it’s maximum points for McLaren and nine for Ferrari so they move to 30 points ahead of Ferrari. Good work. 02:31 PM GMT FINAL LAP Norris leads Piastri, Russell and Sainz. Russell tries to dive up the inside but cannot make the move stick and that will probably be that, barring a Piastri mistake... Norris looks likely to take an easy win... 02:30 PM GMT Lap 18 of 19 - Russell thinks about a move But he was too far behind to really make any meaningful overtaking manoeuvre. Norris now leads Piastri by 1.5sec. Is he just trying to focus on his own race now? 02:28 PM GMT Lap 17 of 19 - McLaren holding on here Well, Piastri is anyway... just about. The gaps have stretched out a bit at among the leaders. Will that be enough to save Piastri? 02:27 PM GMT Lap 16 of 19 - Norris leads Piastri, Russell, Sainz and Leclerc Verstappen is not really making any inroads into Nico Hulkenberg in seventh. Sainz is joining the fight in the top four, so this could get interesting. 02:25 PM GMT Lap 15 of 19 - Norris has hung back a bit Again to try and give Piastri DRS to aid him in his fight with Russell for second. This is only a sprint race, yes, but the points are valuable to McLaren. “I’m starting to struggle with the front, so do I save him or?” Yes, help him he says. Verstappen remains eighth. Perez pits for a new front wing from 19th... not because he’s broken his original one but just to see how it performs, I guess. 02:24 PM GMT Lap 14 of 19 - Russell close to Piastri now Russell tries a move up the inside of turn one but Piastri blocks him. A late move across to the inside from the McLaren. Dodgy move? Piastri has now dropped back to 1.7sec behind Norris. “F--- me mate, that was late!” Russell says. “Twice now!” On replay I think it was probably OK. 02:23 PM GMT Lap 13 of 19 - Leclerc and Hamilton touch They go side-by-side throughout turns one, two three and four! A bit of rubbing! Well done both men. Hamilton comes back but cannot make a move stick. Leclerc had DRS and went up the inside with a late braking move, Hamilton was able to hang it around the outside for a looong time but not long enough. LAP 13/19 Charles Leclerc pulls off a stunning move on future team mate Lewis Hamilton 😱 Nothing between them, and Leclerc takes P5! — Formula 1 (@F1) 02:21 PM GMT Lap 12 of 19 - Leclerc chasing down Hamilton 0.5sec in it at the moment and the Ferrari looks the quicker car. Team-mates next year. Verstappen in eighth but isn’t making a great impression into Hulkenberg. 02:20 PM GMT Lap 11 of 19 - Norris leads Piastri by 0.6sec The top few are very close but there have been few signs of any challenges in the last few laps. 02:18 PM GMT Lap 10 of 19 - Top eight and gaps NOR PIA +0.6 RUS +1.2 SAI +1.9 HAM +3.0 LEC +3.9 HUL +7.2 VER +9.0 02:17 PM GMT Lap 9 of 19 - Russell has a look Not as big a move as the one a couple of laps ago but not far off. Verstappen now the fastest man on track as he chases down Hulkenberg. 02:16 PM GMT Lap 8 of 19 - Verstappen no longer in ninth He dives up the inside of Gasly at turn one to move into eighth. Norris is indeed trying to help out Piastri, his team-mate, behind by giving him use of DRS. Is it a dangerous game? Slightly. Piastri under pressure again as they enter the final straight and Russell sets the fastest lap of the race. 02:14 PM GMT Lap 7 of 19 - Verstappen still in ninth The lead three cars are very close as the end the lap... 02:14 PM GMT Lap 6 of 19 - Norris leads Piastri by 0.7sec Leclerc has become a bit detached from the lead group, he is 1.8sec behind Hamilton but has just set the fastest lap. 02:12 PM GMT Lap 5 of 19 - Sainz now within DRS range of Russell ahead Norris’s lead now down to one second. I think he might be trying to give him some help with DRS. Russell is kind of closing on them both now, though. 2.8sec separates the top five drivers. 02:11 PM GMT Lap 4 of 19 - Russell dives down the inside! With DRS he goes up the inside of turn one but Piastri says “no mate” and goes around the outside on the exit of the corner to keep the place. Russell later complains that Piastri turned into him but I would certainly need another look. Verstappen still down in ninth, so has not made any further progress. “Oversteer is an understatment,” he said during the first lap. 02:08 PM GMT Lap 3 of 19 - Russell gets close But not quite close enough to try a move at turn one on Piastri. If he can stay close then next lap could be an option. Piastri not quite within DRS range of team-mate and leader Norris. Here’s the top 10: NOR PIA RUS SAI HAM LEC HUL GAS VER ALO 02:07 PM GMT Lap 2 of 19 - Norris leads Piastri by 1.1sec Liam Lawson had an awful start, down to 17th... Russell is within DRS range of Piastri and it will be soon that DRS will be available. Russell uses DRS on the pit straight to close up at turn one... 02:06 PM GMT THE 2024 QATAR GRAND PRIX SPRINT IS GO! It’s a good start for Norris who leads Russell into the first corner and Piastri comes through to make it a McLaren 1-2! Piastri runs off track at turn six slightly which allows Russell to close up and gives Norris a 1.2sec lead after half a lap. Verstappen has dropped back to ninth from sixth. Not sure what happened to him there. Norris, Piastri, Russell, Sainz, Hamilton, Leclerc, Hulkenberg, Gasly, Verstappen and Alonso make the top 10. 02:02 PM GMT The formation lap is go Russell gets away ahead of Norris but then Norris goes around the outside as he is let through again. Norris has had a few dodgy starts this season, can he make a good one today? 01:54 PM GMT We are nearly ready to get going in Qatar Lance locked in. — Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) Predictions? I think a Norris-led McLaren one-two. Russell third, Leclerc fourth, Verstappen fifth. 01:47 PM GMT Conditions in Qatar SPRINT: With 15 mins to the start, air temp is 21.4C & the track 26.4C. Wind from the NW; during the past hour, gusts to 27mph but these are now gradually decreasing through the evening. Dry; FIA official risk of rain is 0%. — Ian Fergusson (@fergieweather) A little gusty out there at the moment. 01:44 PM GMT Qatar GP sprint race: starting grid 1. NOR 2. RUS 3. PIA 4. SAI 5. LEC 6. VER 7. HAM 8. GAS 9. HUL 10. LAW 11. ALO 12. ALB 13. BOT 14. STR 15. MAG 16. TSU 17. OCO 18. ZHO PER, COL 01:39 PM GMT How the 2025 grid looks Still one slot at RB to fill, though arguably there is one to fill at Red Bull too... 01:27 PM GMT A reminder of the constructors’ standings 01:25 PM GMT News: Perez and Colapinto to start from pit lane in sprint Both drivers have made changes to their suspension under parc ferme regulations, so will start from the pit lane. Not much to lose and it will give the teams some data for qualifying later today and the main race tomorrow. 01:12 PM GMT Positions and times after sprint qualifying Lando Norris (Gbr) McLaren 1min 21.012secs George Russell (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1:21.075 Oscar Piastri (Aus) McLaren 1:21.171 Carlos Sainz Jr (Spa) Ferrari 1:21.281 Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari 1:21.308 Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:21.315 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1:21.474 Pierre Gasly (Fra) Alpine 1:21.978 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Haas F1 1:22.088 Liam Lawson (Nzl) RB 1:22.577 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Aston Martin 1:22.433 Alexander Albon (Tha) Williams 1:22.526 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Kick Sauber 1:22.538 Lance Stroll (Can) Aston Martin 1:22.599 Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas F1 1:22.738 Sergio Perez (Mex) Red Bull 1:22.718 Yuki Tsunoda (Jpn) RB 1:22.722 Esteban Ocon (Fra) Alpine 1:22.906 Guanyu Zhou (Chn) Kick Sauber 1:22.948 Franco Colapinto (Arg) Williams 1:23.423 01:05 PM GMT Hamilton: ‘I’m just slow’ It was another poor qualifying session for Lewis Hamilton yesterday and there have been plenty of them in 2024. He now trails team-mate George Russell 22-6 in a combination of sprint and main qualifying sessions this season. This is what he had to say after ending up in seventh, five places and nearly four-tenths behind his team-mate. “I’m definitely not fast any more. Same as every other qualifying, not that great, I’m just slow and same every weekend. So yeah, car felt relatively decent. No, no issues, and not really much more to say.” 12:59 PM GMT Good afternoon Welcome to our Saturday coverage for the Qatar Grand Prix, which is the sixth and final of the sprint weekends in 2024. So far we have had one practice session and sprint qualifying, with McLaren’s Lando Norris coming out on top in the latter with a lap that was less than a tenth of a second faster than the lead Mercedes of George Russell, who put in another strong showing. For a while it looked as if the Ferraris would be able to compete for pole, confounding their pre-weekend expectations. Yet Sainz and Leclerc ended around two and three tenths of a second away from Norris’s ultimate pace in fourth and fifth. The second McLaren of Oscar Piastri was a tenth and a half away from his team-mate’s time, which will boost his team’s hopes of winning the constructors’ championship. Norris can no longer take the drivers’ championship (something that had been on the cards for a little while) but it would be McLaren’s first constructors’ title since 1998 and their first F1 title of any kind since 2008. They currently lead Ferrari by 24 points and extending that looks on the cards, though far from certain, this weekend going on current performance. They can secure that title this weekend, but would need to leave the weekend with a 45-point advantage over Ferrari. It is throwing it forward significantly, of course, but if they were to finish the sprint where they start and repeat the same in the main race, then McLaren would leave Lusail with the championship, scoring 54 points to Ferrari’s 31, increasing their advantage by either 22, 23 or 24 points depending on where the fastest lap goes. So it is certainly doable. Red Bull, who are mathematically still in the constructors’ title fight had another off session, with Max Verstappen in sixth and Sergio Perez way down in 16th. You really struggle to see how the Mexican will be able to line up with Red Bull at the start of next year given his performances have shown zero uptick. Anyway, the sprint race itself starts at 2pm with qualifying for the main race at 6pm GMT. We will be here for all of the build-up, live updates and reaction from both.Trump threatens 100% tariff on BRICS countries over currency plansJapan's famous sake joins UNESCO's cultural heritage list, a boost to brewers and enthusiasts LUQUE, Paraguay (AP) — Sake is perhaps more Japanese than the world-famous sushi. It's brewed in centuries-old mountaintop warehouses, savored in the country’s pub-like izakayas, poured during weddings and served slightly chilled for special toasts. Canadian Press Dec 4, 2024 2:48 PM Dec 4, 2024 2:50 PM Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message Japan's Takehiro Kano, ambassador to UNESCO, reacts the traditional Japanese brewing of sake was named Intangible Cultural Heritage during a UNESCO World Heritage Convention in Asuncion, Paraguay, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Marta Escurra) LUQUE, Paraguay (AP) — Sake is perhaps more Japanese than the world-famous sushi. It's brewed in centuries-old mountaintop warehouses, savored in the country’s pub-like izakayas, poured during weddings and served slightly chilled for special toasts. The smooth rice wine that plays a crucial role in Japan's culinary traditions was enshrined on Wednesday by UNESCO on its list of the “intangible cultural heritage of humanity." At a meeting in Luque, Paraguay, members of UNESCO’s committee for safeguarding humanity's cultural heritage voted to recognize 45 cultural practices and products around the world, including Brazilian white cheese, Caribbean cassava bread and Palestinian olive oil soap. Unlike UNESCO’s World Heritage List, which includes sites considered important to humanity like the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, the Intangible Cultural Heritage designation names products and practices of different cultures that are deserving of recognition. A Japanese delegation welcomed the announcement in Luque. “Sake is considered a divine gift and is essential for social and cultural events in Japan,” Kano Takehiro, the Japanese ambassador to UNESCO, told The Associated Press. The basic ingredients of sake are few: rice, water, yeast and koji, a rice mold, which breaks down the starches into fermentable sugars like malting does in beer production. The whole two-monthlong process of steaming, stirring, fermenting and pressing can be grueling. The rice — which wields tremendous marketing power as part of Japan's broader cultural identity — is key to the alcoholic brew. For a product to be categorized Japanese sake, the rice must be Japanese. The UNESCO recognition, the delegation said, captured more than the craft knowledge of making high-quality sake. It also honored a tradition dating back some 1,000 years — sake makes a cameo in Japan’s famous 11th century novel, “The Tale of Genji,” as the drink of choice in the refined Heian court. Now, officials hope to restore sake's image as Japan's premier alcoholic drink even as the younger drinkers in the country switch to imported wine or domestic beer and whiskey. “It means a lot to Japan and to the Japanese,” Takehiro said of the UNESCO designation. "This will help to renew interest in traditional sake elaboration.” Also, Japanese breweries have expressed hope that the listing could give a little lift to the country's export economy as the popularity of sake booms around the world and in the United States amid heightened interest in Japanese cuisine. Sake exports, mostly to the U.S. and China, now rake in over $265 million a year, according to the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association, a trade group. Japan's delegation appeared ready to celebrate on Wednesday — in classic Japanese style. After the announcement, Takehiro raised a cypress box full of sake to toast the alcoholic brew and cultural rite. The Associated Press See a typo/mistake? Have a story/tip? This has been shared 0 times 0 Shares Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message More Entertainment News Early-rising Taylor Swift fans wait for hours in Vancouver for concert gear Dec 4, 2024 3:18 PM Pete Hegseth's mother says The New York Times made 'threats' by asking her to comment on a story Dec 4, 2024 2:50 PM Music Review: Blackpink K-pop star Rosé's debut solo album 'Rosie' is heartfelt, but slightly sleepy Dec 4, 2024 2:44 PM Featured Flyer
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