2024 Qatar Grand Prix qualifying report and highlights: George Russell moved to pole after Max Verstappen surprisingly took P1 by just 0.055 seconds in Qatar

Q2 – Verstappen sneaks into P1 and Kick Sauber narrowly misses

The action soon resumed at the start of second qualifying, with Russell setting the early mark before Verstappen came through as quickest. The world champion clocked a time of 1:21.085 minutes, seven hundredths ahead of the Mercedes.

Piastri and Norris followed in third and fourth, ahead of Perez’s other Red Bull in fifth. The Mexican – who dipped a wheel into the gravel on his cool-down lap – would certainly be keen to do a good qualifying after another disappointing session in sprint qualifying on Friday.

Meanwhile, Alonso abandoned his attempt and was the only driver without a lap time after the first few runs. This meant he was temporarily at the end of the danger zone, behind Bottas, Zhou, Tsunoda and Stroll. Elsewhere, Sainz was noted for an unsafe exit in the pits, an incident which will be investigated after the session.

With the distances again proving good, there was plenty of action as attention turned to the final rounds of attack. Norris was just 0.066 seconds quicker than Verstappen at the top with three minutes to go, while Bottas was less than two tenths away from finishing in the top 10.

When the decisive effort came, Norris remained in the lead with his lap time of 1:20.983 minutes, but all eyes were on those trying to escape the danger zone. Magnussen and Tsunoda both improved, while Zhou narrowly missed out despite an impressive lap.

Alonso then climbed into the top 10, putting Hamilton in danger – before the Mercedes man also improved his previous time to avoid elimination. Just as Verstappen crept into P1 with a time of 1:20.687 minutes, Gasly, Zhou, Bottas, Tsunoda and Stroll missed out on Q3.

Eliminated: Gasly, Zhou, Bottas, Tsunoda, Stroll