Aussie ace Oscar Piastri has found himself at the centre of a F1 farce that has marred qualifying for the Qatar Grand Prix.
Piastri was among several drivers to lose their fastest laps for straying beyond the white lines defining the edge of the track in their final laps in qualifying.
But so slow were the stewards in actually deleting their times, Piastri — who had to that point set the third-quickest time — was giving the customary post-session top-three interview when he found out his time had been deleted and he had been demoted to sixth.
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“I didn't know, but this is fun, isn't it? Not knowing who the top-3 is?" he said.
"Obviously a shame... I just pushed a little bit hard on the last lap. A shame because the car looked quick.
"We obviously get another crack at it tomorrow in [the Sprint Shootout] and then the Sprint too, so we'll see what we can do. It's very tight and it's so easy to make mistakes. The track's very slippery too, so not making things easy for us. But we'll try again obviously.
"It's a shame that we're a bit further back now for the main race where the most points are, but there's definitely points up for grabs tomorrow."
Even after being told of the demotion, Piastri still posed for the customary top-three photo.
Piastri's McLaren teammate Lando Norris was another to have a time deleted. He'd set a time quick enough for second at the time, which promoted the Mercedes of George Russell to second and Piastri to third, before Piastri's time was also deleted, which promoted Lewis Hamilton to third.
Norris will start 10th.
Back at the front, Max Verstappen underlined why he's on the verge of a third consecutive title as he qualified on pole.
He can clinch the title in Sunday's sprint race.
https://twitter.com/F1/status/1710358640358465657?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwVerstappen set a commanding time early in the third and last session of qualifying and bailed out of his final run after his car slid off the racing line. It didn't matter as George Russell could only manage a time .441 seconds slower than Verstappen as he qualified second. His Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton was third, .527 off the pace.
Verstappen can secure the title with at least a sixth-place finish in the sprint Saturday. That contest will have its own separate “shootout” qualifying session earlier the same day. If it doesn't work out Saturday for the Dutch driver, pole position is the best possible insurance policy for Sunday.
“It doesn’t really change anything. I just want to have a good weekend,” Verstappen said of the standings situation. “And of course, I know in the back of my mind that that’s happening. But it doesn’t add any extra pressure or whatever. I just want to enjoy the weekend and try to do the best I can.”
Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez qualified only 13th for Sunday's race after his best time in the second part of qualifying was deleted because he went off track. Had it counted, he would have scraped into the third session in 10th.
Even if Verstappen fails to clinch the title in Saturday's sprint, Perez would have to storm through the field on Sunday and score far more points than Verstappen to keep the title race alive.
https://twitter.com/PiastriNews/status/1710379719936430472?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwRussell gave no sign he expects to challenge Verstappen for the race win Sunday. Asked what he could do about Verstappen from second on the grid, he said: “Waving him goodbye, I think, after turn one.”
“Max has done an exceptional job. He deserves to be champion this year," Russell added. "Of course, Formula One, we love the competition, but we can’t take anything away from what he and Red Bull have done. And we need to look at ourselves in the mirror and raise our game into next year and give him a challenge.”
Hamilton suggested F1 could take a different approach to track limits infringements, perhaps relying more on track-side kerbs to slow drivers down than ruling on whether they crossed the white line at the edge of the circuit.
There was also disappointment for Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Jr., the only non-Red Bull driver to win a race this year.
He was 12th, seven places behind his teammate Charles Leclerc. Lance Stroll was another driver who qualified far behind his teammate, placing 17th for Aston Martin while Fernando Alonso was fourth.
Aussie ace Oscar Piastri has found himself at the centre of a F1 farce that has marred qualifying for the Qatar Grand Prix.
Piastri was among several drivers to lose their fastest laps for straying beyond the white lines defining the edge of the track in their final laps in qualifying.
But so slow were the stewards in actually deleting their times, Piastri — who had to that point set the third-quickest time — was giving the customary post-session top-three interview when he found out his time had been deleted and he had been demoted to sixth.
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“I didn't know, but this is fun, isn't it? Not knowing who the top-3 is?" he said.
"Obviously a shame... I just pushed a little bit hard on the last lap. A shame because the car looked quick.
"We obviously get another crack at it tomorrow in [the Sprint Shootout] and then the Sprint too, so we'll see what we can do. It's very tight and it's so easy to make mistakes. The track's very slippery too, so not making things easy for us. But we'll try again obviously.
"It's a shame that we're a bit further back now for the main race where the most points are, but there's definitely points up for grabs tomorrow."
Even after being told of the demotion, Piastri still posed for the customary top-three photo.
Piastri's McLaren teammate Lando Norris was another to have a time deleted. He'd set a time quick enough for second at the time, which promoted the Mercedes of George Russell to second and Piastri to third, before Piastri's time was also deleted, which promoted Lewis Hamilton to third.
Norris will start 10th.
Back at the front, Max Verstappen underlined why he's on the verge of a third consecutive title as he qualified on pole.
He can clinch the title in Sunday's sprint race.
https://twitter.com/F1/status/1710358640358465657?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwVerstappen set a commanding time early in the third and last session of qualifying and bailed out of his final run after his car slid off the racing line. It didn't matter as George Russell could only manage a time .441 seconds slower than Verstappen as he qualified second. His Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton was third, .527 off the pace.
Verstappen can secure the title with at least a sixth-place finish in the sprint Saturday. That contest will have its own separate “shootout” qualifying session earlier the same day. If it doesn't work out Saturday for the Dutch driver, pole position is the best possible insurance policy for Sunday.
“It doesn’t really change anything. I just want to have a good weekend,” Verstappen said of the standings situation. “And of course, I know in the back of my mind that that’s happening. But it doesn’t add any extra pressure or whatever. I just want to enjoy the weekend and try to do the best I can.”
Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez qualified only 13th for Sunday's race after his best time in the second part of qualifying was deleted because he went off track. Had it counted, he would have scraped into the third session in 10th.
Even if Verstappen fails to clinch the title in Saturday's sprint, Perez would have to storm through the field on Sunday and score far more points than Verstappen to keep the title race alive.
https://twitter.com/PiastriNews/status/1710379719936430472?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwRussell gave no sign he expects to challenge Verstappen for the race win Sunday. Asked what he could do about Verstappen from second on the grid, he said: “Waving him goodbye, I think, after turn one.”
“Max has done an exceptional job. He deserves to be champion this year," Russell added. "Of course, Formula One, we love the competition, but we can’t take anything away from what he and Red Bull have done. And we need to look at ourselves in the mirror and raise our game into next year and give him a challenge.”
Hamilton suggested F1 could take a different approach to track limits infringements, perhaps relying more on track-side kerbs to slow drivers down than ruling on whether they crossed the white line at the edge of the circuit.
There was also disappointment for Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Jr., the only non-Red Bull driver to win a race this year.
He was 12th, seven places behind his teammate Charles Leclerc. Lance Stroll was another driver who qualified far behind his teammate, placing 17th for Aston Martin while Fernando Alonso was fourth.
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