Lorraine McKenna
All times stated are UK
Verstappen on pole as title looms
Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Max Verstappen stormed to pole position at the Qatar Grand Prix and needed only one run in the final qualifying session to do it.
Mercedes drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton were promoted to second and third after penalties for McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
Norris and Piastri were second and fourth, sandwiching Russell, but lost their times for exceeding track limits.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso starts fourth.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc starts in fifth after team-mate Carlos Sainz failed to make it through to the top 10 shoot out.
And there was another big scalp in the second session, when Red Bull's Sergio Perez was eliminated.
Back on Saturday at 13:30 BST
A few tears in the media pen tonight but tomorrow is another day.
Switch out Oscar for Lewis and that will be the top three for Sunday's Qatar Grand Prix.
Qualifying woes and what that means for the main race can be put to one side for now as Saturday is a standalone event, with the sprint shootout first to set the grid for the 19-lap sprint race under the lights from 18:00 BST.
Enjoy your Friday night and be ready to go from 13:30 BST tomorrow!
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
'I just messed it up' - Norris
Lando Norris is the second driver this qualifying session to be absolutely devastated with his performance. First Lance Stroll was too upset to speak and now Lando. "I just had a correction and oversteer and went off," said the McLaren man when asked about his deleted lap time. "The team have done a good job. I just messed it up. Not a good day for me."
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Oscar Piastri, who will now start in P6 from P3 after having a lap time deleted: "Not particularly happy with myself. Very, very scruffy on that last lap. Bit more on the table but I'll take a top three.
"[Another podium] would be nice. It's been a very different experience this weekend compared to Suzuka. Straight into today and very, very slippery track. It's been a learning curve but we'll try our best.
On Saturday's sprint race: "The set-up at Spa [Belgian Grand Prix] got us second in the sprint. The car is how it is but it felt pretty good."
'Really tricky day for everybody' - Russell
George Russell, who will now start on the front row in P2: "It was a really tricky day for everybody. The new tarmac was really slippery and all the sand is blowing onto the track. We went out in qualifying and the lap times were just immense compared to the times we were doing this morning. That was good fun. Really happy to be P3 (before he found out he will start P2).
On what he can do in Sunday's race: "Lando and the McLarens are really quick at the moment. We know Red Bull and Max are in a league of their own but our fight at the moment is with Ferrari to secure P2 in the constructors' championship. We need to be consistent and go from there."
'Great start to the weekend' - Verstappen
Max Verstappen, who secures pole for Sunday's Qatar Grand Prix: "Great start to the weekend. It's quite tricky out there. The new tarmac, it still needs to rubber in but very happy to be on pole. It's been a good day for us.
On Sunday's race: "I want to win it. We put it on pole, so naturally you want tot win the race but let's make sure we have a good day tomorrow as well. I think the car is quick. Of course, tomorrow, it's again going to be a bit more difficult to get the tyres ready to work well, with the sand coming onto the track as well."
Qualifying classification
Confirmation of the qualifying result. Lando Norris will start down in 10th and McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri has to pack up his bags and move to sixth place from P3.
George Russell will line up alongside Max Verstappen and the second row will now be occupied by Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.
FormulaCopyright: Formula
Post update
Right, well Oscar will drop down to sixth on the grid (we think) and Lewis Hamilton we move up to third place.
Post update
Oh dear. Looks like Oscar Piastri has had his lap time scrubbed from Q3 as well! This is a bit of a mess.
Post update
George Russell is asking where Lando Norris is. The Mercedes driver doesn't yet know Norris' lap time has been deleted and is puzzled to see Oscar Piastri, who will now start in P3 for Sunday's race, come up to the microphone.
And the rest
11. Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri)
12. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
13. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
14. Alex Albon (Williams)
15. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)
16. Logan Sargeant (Williams)
17. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
18. Liam Lawson (Alpha Tauri)
19. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
20. Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo)
Post update
The decision is in. Does Lando Norris get to keep his second place on the grid?
No. Lap time deleted for track limits. The McLaren driver will move down to P10, everybody else will move up a spot.
Top 10
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Lando Norris (McLaren)
3. George Russell (Mercedes)
4. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
5. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
6. Fernando Alonso (Mercedes)
7. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
8. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
9. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
10. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)
Chequered flag
Max Verstappen aborted his lap but it didn't matter, the Dutchman's time of 1:23.778 was good enough for pole position.
The wait is on now to see if Lando Norris will keep P2...
Post update
The McLaren of Oscar Piastri splits the Mercedes! The Australian slips into fourth and Hamilton has to settle for fifth.
Post update
Has Lando Norris exceeded track limits again? The Briton is up to second on the grid... for now.
Lewis Hamilton goes third fastest but George Russell pushed the seven-time world champion down to fourth.
Max Verstappen is safe on pole...
Post update
The only driver who is without a time on the board is Lando Norris. So it's no surprise the McLaren driver is going for a flyer straight away.
Post update
George Russell is crawling out of the pit lane. The Mercedes is taking its time to come out and leaves a sizeable gap in front of him.
Top 10
First runs complete. This is how we look.
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
3. George Russell (Mercedes)
4. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
6. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
7. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
8. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
9. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)
10. Lando Norris (mcLaren)
Post update
Max Verstappen is on for a 10th pole position of the 2023 season as he parks his Red Bull in P1. Lewis Hamilton is next to cross the line and goes seconds quickest, but the Mercedes is half a second off the Dutchman's best time.
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