Verstappen races to pole in Qatar – McLaren ahead of FerrariMax Verstappen has taken pole position at the Qatar Grand Prix and caused a real surprise. The world champion in the Red Bull turned the fastest lap in qualifying under floodlights on Saturday evening, and George Russell in the Mercedes and McLaren driver Lando Norris will start behind him in the race on Sunday. For Verstappen in the Red Bull, which has been weak for a while, it was the first pole position for exactly five months – even at the sprint in Qatar on Saturday afternoon there was nothing at all to indicate this qualifying result. Verstappen only came eighth there. “What a turnaround,” he radioed to the pits. For McLaren, starting positions three and four for Norris and Oscar Piastri are still valuable: the racing team is still fighting for victory in the constructors’ championship against Ferrari, with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz taking the win only places five and seven.McLaren leads the constructors’ world championship with a 30-point lead over Ferrari; with the double victory in the sprint in Qatar, Piastri and Norris had closed the gap the Scuderia expanded again. In the two remaining Grands Prix on Sunday and a week later in Abu Dhabi, the teams still have 88 points to gain. The later evening brought a setback for Nico Hülkenberg: In qualifying, he only managed 18th place on the grid, and Hülkenberg complained about problems the battery. Haas is still in an all-round battle with Alpine and the Racing Bulls for sixth place in the team world championship, which would mean significant additional income. It’s a long road to the points for Hülkenberg on Sunday, but his teammate Kevin Magnussen impressed and will start the race from tenth place. Pierre Gasly in the Alpine also has a chance of achieving something countable from eleventh place. (sid)
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