Mercedes Formula 1 star Lewis Hamilton took a dominant pole position for the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix. The eight-time world champion topped the session by over four and half tenths from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
The pair were followed by Valtteri Bottas with AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly having another stellar qualifying session in 2021 with the Frenchman ending the session in fourth despite suffering a puncture right at the end.
The big surprise of the session was Sergio Perez who could only manage 11th. The Mexican missed out on Q3, meaning Red Bull will have their work cut out on Sunday with the advantage firmly with Mercedes as the season approaches its climax.
Fernando Alonso, Lando Norris, Carlos Sainz, Yuki Tsunoda, Esteban Ocon and Sebastian Vettel rounded out the top 10.
Full 2021 F1 Qatar GP Qualifying Results
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Q3 Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1.20.827 |
| 2 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +0.455 |
| 3 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | +0.651 |
| 4 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | +0.813 |
| 5 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine | +0.843 |
| 6 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +0.904 |
| 7 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | +1.013 |
| 8 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | +1.054 |
| 9 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | +1.201 |
| 10 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin | +1.958 |
| 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | Eliminated in Q2 |
| 12 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | Eliminated in Q2 |
| 13 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | Eliminated in Q2 |
| 14 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | Eliminated in Q2 |
| 15 | George Russell | Williams | Eliminated in Q2 |
| 16 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo | Eliminated in Q1 |
| 17 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | Eliminated in Q1 |
| 18 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo | Eliminated in Q1 |
| 19 | Mick Schumacher | Haas | Eliminated in Q1 |
| 20 | Nikita Mazepin | Haas | Eliminated in Q1 |
