Introduction
Max Verstappen took a masterful victory in a vastly eventful 2024 Components 1 Qatar Grand Prix, a race that featured three Security Automotive appearances, quite a few incidents and a penalty for Lando Norris that dropped the Briton down the order after earlier battling for the lead.
Click on right here to subscribe to our print version!
Having misplaced pole place following a one-place penalty for an incident in qualifying, Verstappen appeared to be in preventing mode from the off, the Dutchman profitable a battle for the lead towards George Russell and Norris into Flip 1.
Nonetheless, it was not essentially a simple drive from there, with the Security Automotive showing on the primary lap after Franco Colapinto and Esteban Ocon have been each casualties in an incident with Nico Hulkenberg.
This proved to be the primary of three Security Automotive outings throughout the 57-lap encounter – and whereas the second restart noticed Norris run near Verstappen in a combat for the lead, the world champion finally held on and remained within the place by to the chequered flag.
Norris, in the meantime, noticed what appeared to be a sure podium end result slip away after being handed a 10-second cease/go penalty for failing to gradual below yellow flags, dropping him down the sector and leaving him with a battle on his fingers to assert factors.
READ MORE: Unique Interview with Enzo Mucci: The Driving Drive Behind Rising Stars Bearman and Lawson
Charles Leclerc took second place, the Ferrari driver crossing the road six seconds again from Verstappen, whereas McLaren’s Oscar Piastri accomplished the rostrum in third. Russell was Mercedes’ sole points-scorer in fourth, forward of Pierre Gasly, who held off Carlos Sainz to take a stable fifth for Alpine.
Sainz needed to accept sixth within the Ferrari – recovering properly from an earlier puncture – with fellow Spaniard Fernando Alonso taking residence factors for Aston Martin in seventh. Zhou Guanyu, in the meantime, scored Kick Sauber’s long-awaited debut factors of the season by claiming a preferred eighth place, additionally incomes him the Driver of the Day accolade.
Kevin Magnussen was ninth for Haas, whereas Norris’s restoration drive following that aforementioned penalty noticed him declare the ultimate level in tenth. Valtteri Bottas simply missed out on including to Kick Sauber’s celebrations within the eleventh, with former teammate Lewis Hamilton reducing a dejected determine within the twelfth after receiving two penalties throughout the occasion.
The RB pair of Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson have been P13 and P14, respectively, with Alex Albon the final categorised runner in P15 for Williams. Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg was considered one of 5 retirees, the Haas spinning out and changing into beached within the gravel, whereas Sergio Perez additionally discovered himself out of the working after struggling a spin of his personal within the Crimson Bull.
Lance Stroll recorded a DNF early on, having sustained injury to his Aston Martin following contact with Albon on the opening lap. Colapinto and Ocon additionally noticed their races finish earlier than that they had begun following that first nook incident with Hulkenberg.
Mario Isola, Motorsport Director, Pirelli:
As anticipated, this was a busy weekend for us. In as we speak’s race, two entrance left tyre punctures have been in Sainz’s and Hamilton’s vehicles. As per process, we are going to now analyse the broken tyres intimately and choose different tyres. The telemetry information we’ve got acquired and onboard footage from the vehicles might be despatched to our laboratory in Milan. As well as, we are going to perform all the standard checks on the stresses to which the tyres have been subjected.
This observe has some moderately peculiar traits: it is vitally extreme by way of the vitality exerted on the tyres and by way of tread put on whereas not resulting in a drop in efficiency. Clearly, this mix of things can create a scenario wherein put on ranges attain their restrict whereas the groups attempt to lengthen the stint as a lot as doable to get the absolute best end result, and we noticed that confirmed as we speak.
In yesterday’s Dash, in some circumstances, the extent of damage had reached 100% on vehicles that had began with about one-third the gasoline load they took on board for as we speak’s begin. At this observe, the left entrance is the tyre subjected to the best load, and it’s no coincidence that each punctures have been on this tyre. Once you attain a sure stage, even the smallest piece of particles may cause a scenario we witnessed as we speak.
As for the remainder, the efficiency ranges of essentially the most used compounds – the C1 and the C2 – have been very related and, as talked about earlier, with hardly any degradation. Subsequently, the extent of tyre administration required was virtually zero, with the drivers in a position to push as a lot as they favored, regardless that they have been, in actual fact, working a one-stop technique.
The day on the observe:
All of the drivers opted to start out on the Medium tyre, except Nico Hulkenberg (Haas), who went for the Onerous. As anticipated, the one-stop was the popular selection for all groups. Other than these drivers concerned in collisions on the opening lap, who needed to pit instantly, everybody tried to increase the primary stint on the Mediums as a lot as doable, attending to over half-distance. There have been just a few exceptions: George Russell (Mercedes) pitted after 23 laps, Valtteri Bottas switched to the Onerous on the next lap and Kevin Magnussen (Haas), pitting after 27 laps. For the remainder of the sector, the run of pit stops started on lap 34, with some coming in when the race was neutralised to change to the arduous tyre. Hulkenberg had already pitted to tackle Mediums after lap 30.
The Security Automotive made three appearances. On the final two, the possibility to pit costing much less time induced Williams and Racing Bulls to gamble on the Delicate, nevertheless it didn’t repay, because the traits of this observe meant the C3 proved to have an excessive amount of of a drop in efficiency.
2024 Components 1 Qatar Grand Prix Race Outcomes
| Pos | No | Driver | Nation | Staff | Time | Factors | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 63 | George Russell | Nice Britain | Mercedes-AMG Petronas | 1:22:05.969 | 25 | 217 |
| 2. | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Nice Britain | Mercedes-AMG Petronas | +7.313s | 18 | 208 |
| 3. | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Spain | Scuderia Ferrari | +11.906s | 15 | 259 |
| 4. | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Monaco | Scuderia Ferrari | +14.283s | 12 | 319 |
| 5. | 1 | Max Verstappen | Netherlands | Crimson Bull Racing | +16.582s | 10 | 403 |
| 6. | 4 | Lando Norris | Nice Britain | Mclaren Racing | +43.385s | 9 | 340 |
| 7. | 81 | Oscar Piastri | Australia | McLaren Racing | +51.365s | 6 | 268 |
| 8. | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Germany | Haas F1 Staff | +59.808s | 4 | 35 |
| 9. | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Japan | Visa Money App F1 Staff | +62.808s | 2 | 30 |
| 10. | 11 | Sergio Perez | Mexico | Crimson Bull Racing | +63.114s | 1 | 152 |
| 11. | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Spain | Aston Martin F1 Staff | +69.195s | 0 | 62 |
| 12. | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Denmark | Haas F1 Staff | +69.803s | 0 | 14 |
| 13. | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | China | Kick Sauber F1 Staff | +74.085s | 0 | 0 |
| 14. | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Argentina | Williams Racing | +75.172s | 0 | 5 |
| 15. | 18 | Lance Stroll | Canada | Aston Martin F1 Staff | +84.102s | 0 | 24 |
| 16. | 30 | Liam Lawson | New Zealand | Visa Money App F1 Staff | +91.005s | 0 | 4 |
| 17. | 31 | Esteban Ocon | France | Alpine F1 Staff | +1 lap | 0 | 23 |
| 18. | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Finland | Kick Sauber F1 Staff | +1 lap | 0 | 0 |
| 19. | 23 | Alexander Albon | Thailand | Williams Racing | DNF | 0 | 12 |
| 20. | 10 | Pierre Gasly | France | Alpine F1 Staff | DNF | 0 | 26 |
2024 Constructor Standings
| Pos | Staff | Factors |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | McLaren Racing | 640 |
| 2. | Scuderia Ferrari | 619 |
| 3. | Crimson Bull Racing | 581 |
| 4. | Mercedes-AMG Petronas | 446 |
| 5. | Aston Martin F1 Staff | 92 |
| 6. | Alpine F1 Staff | 59 |
| 7. | Haas F1 Staff | 54 |
| 8. | Visa Money App F1 Staff | 46 |
| 9. | Williams Racing | 17 |
| 10. | Kick Sauber F1 Staff | 4 |
Listed below are the team-by-team highlights:
The submit 2024 Components 1 Qatar Grand Prix Highlights appeared first on Paddock Journal.
