Qatar GP grid confirmed after penalties imposed

The starting grid for the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix has changed after Max Verstappen was handed a one-place grid penalty for impeding George Russell, thereby losing his pole position.

Verstappen was on an additional warm-up lap in the third quarter and was significantly slower than his competitors. As Russell approached behind him, the Red Bull driver inadvertently impeded Russell’s progress, particularly between turns 12 and 14. Stewards investigated the incident closely, taking into account telemetry, video, team radio and other data before proceeding to their Judgment came.

In their official statement, the stewards noted the complexity of the situation, saying:

“Stewards heard from the driver of Car 1 (Max Verstappen), the driver of Car 63 (George Russell) and team representatives and reviewed positioning/maneuvering system data, video, timing, telemetry, team radio and in-car video evidence.

“Car 1 had a different preparation strategy than car 63. Car 1 was well outside the delta and the driver of car 1 stated he had let cars 4 and 14 pass. The driver of car 63 claimed he complied.” He said that if a car was traveling slowly on a high-speed curve, it should not be on the racing line.

“The stewards view this case as complicated in that car 1 clearly did not adhere to the race director’s event instructions and, in our opinion, obviously drove unnecessarily slowly given the circumstances.”

The stewards also confirmed that this would normally result in a penalty of three places on the grid as both drivers were not in the final laps, but there would only be one starting place. They added:

“Unusually, this incident occurred when neither car was on a push lap. Had car 63 been on a push lap, the penalty would most likely have been the usual penalty of three places on the grid from car 63 having a clear view of car 1 and that neither car was on a fast lap.

George Russell is now on pole position on the starting grid, followed by Verstappen, Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc in the top five.

1.George Russell
2. Max Verstappen
3. Lando Norris
4. Oscar Piastri
5. Charles Leclerc
6. Lewis Hamilton
7. Carlos Sainz
8. Fernando Alonso
9. Sergio Perez
10. Kevin Magnussen
11. Pierre Gasly
12. Zhou Guanyu
13. Valtteri Bottas
14. Yuki Tsunoda
15. Lance Stroll
16. Alex Albon
17. Liam Lawson
18. Nico Hulkenberg
19. Franco Colapinto
20. Esteban Ocon