Inching past George Russell by four-tenths of a second, Verstappen managed to take first while Mercedes’ Russell settled for a second place behind him.

Speaking to Russell after the qualifying rounds, he stated;  “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 is with Ferrari to secure P2 in the constructors' championship.” 

Red Bull claimed the constructors’ championship for a 6th time after a dominant drive from Max Verstappen in the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka 2 weeks ago putting Red Bull far above their opponents. P2 is still up for grabs, hence the importance for teams like Mercedes and Ferrari to show up in the remainder of the season. 

With the sprint shoot outs, Verstappen managed to secure a third place behind McLaren’s Piastri and Norris. 

McLaren has managed to maintain their good drives over the past few weeks by standing out in the sprint shootouts and securing the first row for the start of the sprint in Qatar despite having been pushed down to 6th for Piastri and 10th for Norris for the Grand Prix race itself. 

This was after their best late laps were deleted due to exceeding track limits. Luckily for both rivers, they could make up for this mishap in the sprint shootouts. Piastri will start the sprint in pole position, and Norris will start in 2nd. 

Needing only 3 points to clinch the 2023 title, Verstappen can secure the win if he places 6th or higher in the sprint and he will now fight to secure his third championship title from third on the sprint grid. He will then start Sunday’s race on pole position with a possible third title already to his name. 

Russell will begin alongside Verstappen in 2nd and Hamilton will begin in 3rd, giving Mercedes the edge to fight for P2 in the constructors’ championship. Ferrari’s Leclerc will begin in 5th and Sainz in 12th this week to continue their fight for P2 as well.

Sunday’s Grand Prix is set to begin at 20:00 at the Lusail International Circuit in Qatar.