Max Verstappen clenched his 30th carrier pole as others struggled with track limits in crucial moments of qualifying.
A single flying lap in Q3 was all it took for the Dutchman to secure yet another pole position for Sunday's Grand Prix. The weekend started on a great note for Max Verstappen's side of the Red Bull garage on the weekend where he is very likely to secure his third championship. The same couldn't be said about the other half of the Milton Keynes outfit as Sergio Perez was once again knocked out of Q2 joining a long list of drivers who had their laps deleted during qualifying.
The Losail International Circuit in Qatar has presented a challenge to all twenty drivers so far this weekend. The newly resurfaced track and the mighty winds of the desert resulted in drivers struggling with low grip.
Verstappen commented on the conditions, saying, "It's quite tricky out there with the new tarmac, it still needs to rubber in..."
The reshuffling of the grid caused by deleted lap times means Max Verstappen will be accompanied by Mercedes' George Russell on the front row in place of Lando Norris who initially qualified for P2.
Disappointing day for McLaren
Both McLaren cars made it into Q3 and with their impressive form were expected to occupy places towards the very front of the grid for the main event on Sunday.
However, both McLaren drivers had their last laps in Q3 deleted due to track limit violations.
Unfortunately for Lando Norris, it was his one and only hot lap in the third and last qualifying session, relegating him to start the Grand Prix from the tenth position.
Lando Norris seemed to be his toughest judge today as he was visibly disappointed and frustrated during post-qualifying interviews. He described he had made a "correction on oversteer and went off" adding that it was "not a good day for me".
Oscar Piastri was first promoted from fourth to third just to be finally demoted during his 'top three' interview. Luckily for him, Piastri had set a previous lap good enough for sixth, where he will be starting alongside Charles Leclerc on Sunday.
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