Qatar Grand Prix: Sprint Quali Recap

Magnussen and Hulkenberg comfortably navigated their VF-24s through SQ1 and into SQ2 to kick start night qualifying under the lights at Lusail International Circuit. Running the mandated Pirelli P Zero Yellow medium tire in the opening knockout sector, Magnussen set a fastest lap of 1:22.560 for P11 with Hulkenberg directly behind in P12 on a 1:22.569.

Magnussen saw his opening run in SQ2 deleted for track limits with his second flier, a 1:22.738, leaving the Dane P15 and out of qualifying. Hulkenberg fared better on his second set of medium rubber – the German through to SQ3 thanks to a 1:22.318 lap for P8. With the Red soft compound the sole tire option in SQ3, Hulkenberg took to the track for one timed run prior to the checkered. That 1:22.088 lap initially earned Hulkenberg P10 but a track limit violation for RB’s Liam Lawson bumped him up to P9 on the timesheet.

McLaren’s Lando Norris led a clean sweep of all three stages of Sprint Qualifying – the British driver claiming Sprint Pole with a 1:21.012 ahead of the Mercedes of George Russell in P2.

Friday’s track running commenced earlier in the day with a stand-alone 60-minute practice session. FP1 saw Hulkenberg and Magnussen sampling both the medium and soft compounds. Hulkenberg clocked a best lap of 1:23.245 on the softs to take P13, while Magnussen’s fastest effort, a 1:23.715 – also on the soft rubber, netted P16.



Nico Hulkenberg:

“It was a good, clean quali. We might have to review SQ3 as we had a different run profile to everyone else, so we might need to understand that. Otherwise, it was a solid session and again very close to Alpine and RB – we’re all close and it’s generally a compact field. It’s a mighty fast track, there’s a lot of grip on this tarmac, and certainly it’s physical and demanding. The Sprint is tough for anyone in the midfield to get points as it’s not the usual top 10 places scoring, so we’ll see, many things can happen and you have to stay in it. It’s all to play for.”

Kevin Magnussen:

“The car was pretty decent. I got pressured by traffic on my out-lap and ended up starting my lap right behind Nico, which wasn’t ideal – but the car was good and we have a decent chance tomorrow. We’ll see how we go, it’s obviously a Sprint with no pit stop so we’ll need to overtake on track.”

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal:

“As usual, it’s so tight between us, Alpine and RB. We tried to get P8 in SQ3 with Nico but just missed it by a tiny margin. Kevin is still struggling at this track, so there’s more to come from him, and with Nico he’s done a good job, but we just need to look at a few things. Tomorrow, starting P9 on the clean side of the grid, our focus is to get P8 and points. It’s tight, but it’s all to play for, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Today's Data:

Event: Sprint Qualifying at the Qatar Grand Prix – Friday November 29
Location: Lusail International Circuit, Doha
Layout: 5.419-kilometer (3.367-mile), 16-turn circuit
Weather: Sunny / Clear
Air Temps: 18.3 degrees Celsius (64.9 degrees Fahrenheit)
Track Temps: 21 degrees Celsius (69.8 degrees Fahrenheit)
Team Result: Nico Hulkenberg qualified 9th, Kevin Magnussen qualified 15th

Free Practice Rundown:

Hulkenberg: 13th overall (1:23.245), 27 laps 
Magnussen: 16th overall (1:23.715), 27 laps 
Fastest: Charles Leclerc of Scuderia Ferrari (1:21.953)

SQ1 Qualifying: 12-mins with all 20 Drivers – Top 15 Advance to SQ2

Magnussen: 11th overall (1:22.560) – Advanced to SQ2
Hulkenberg: 12th overall (1:22.569) – Advanced to SQ2
Fastest: Lando Norris of McLaren (1:21.356)

SQ2 Qualifying: 10-mins – Top 10 Advance to SQ3

Hulkenberg: 8th overall (1:22.318) – Advanced to SQ3
Magnussen: 15th overall (1:22.738) 
Fastest: Lando Norris of McLaren (1:21.231)

SQ3 Qualifying: 8-mins – Top 10 Drivers

Hulkenberg: 9th overall (1:22.088)
Sprint Pole: Lando Norris of McLaren (1:21.012)