Qatar Grand Prix – qualifying LIVE: Latest as Max Verstappen chases yet another pole ahead of Lewis Hamilton

Laps being finished off now

Magnussen was seen going wide – he’s one of the drivers in trouble.

Just under three minutes remaining

That’s how you avoid the risk of elimination.

Zhou, Albon, Lawson, Magnussen and Norris all in the bottom five.

Drivers are still working to get used to the surface, after just one practice session earlier.

Alonso leads at this stage, Russell second, Hamilton third and Bottas fourth.

Their drivers came in to change up their tyres, and they’re now on their out laps. Need to lay down a good time to avoid being knocked out in Q1.

Eight minutes remaining.

Zhou, Norris, Russell, Hamilton and Hulkenberg in the elimination zone at this earlystage.

There’s going to be a lot of movement at the top, as the cars get their quick laps in as soon as they can. Alonso took it from Verstappen, and Leclerc took it from the Spaniard.

Norris did take the fastest lap, but his time was deleted for exceeding track limits.

Leclerc currently leading everyone. Verstappen back up to second.

1:26.884 is the marker laid down by Max Verstappen

The Red Bulls got out first, and now they’re trying to lay down a quick lap quickly before conditions change.

This is normal qualifying, despite the Sprint elements of tomorrow.

The final moments before things get underway in Lusail

The drivers should be used to this by now. Round 18 is close to getting underway to kickstart the weekend…

Teams are making their final adjustments, and drivers are getting close to taking their seats.

Will the limited practice time level the playing field as they qualify for Sunday’s big race?

Drivers are going to have their work cut out in qualifying, with the wind playing havoc with the cars as they speed around the Lusail circuit.

Who will get through to the best positions? Who’s going to struggle in Q1 or Q2 and get caught out early on.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were second and third respectively in Japan, and now McLaren will be keen to build on that performance. Can they start strongly with a decent performance in qualifying today?

They were back in ninth and tenth during the only practice session of the weekend earlier – but none of that matters when Q1 gets underway in 15 minutes.

There was no race in Qatar in 2022, as the country prepared for the hosting of the football World Cup.

In 2021, Lewis Hamilton took pole position in qualifying, and held on to win the race ahead of Max Verstappen in second and Fernando Alonso in third.

From here, the teams and drivers head to the USA, before moving to Mexico City. Sao Paulo, Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi see out the season.

Will this be a victory procession for Max Verstappen?

Before that, Carlos Sainz had two poles in a row in Italy and Singapore. Before that, Max Verstappen was on pole in his home GP in Holland.

Will it be one of those two again? Or someone else?

Sergio Perez has had two poles this season, Charles Leclerc has started on pole twice as well, and Lewis Hamilton has one, in Hungary.

What will unfold in Qatar in the next hour or so?

Fernando Alonso has hailed Max Verstappen as the best F1 driver since Michael Schumacher. He also stirred some controversy by not including Lewis Hamilton in his ranking, despite the Brit’s many world titles.

If you’re looking for more reading on your Friday night, Jonathan McEvoy has you covered.

It looked to be a tough first session for Red Bull – only for Max Verstappen to finish 0.334 seconds ahead of Carlos Sainz. Sainz’s Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc was third.

It was a positive start to the weekend for Verstappen, with the Dutchman potentially just 24 hours away from winning the title, which he will achieve tomorrow if he does not lose six points or more to his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez.

Hello and welcome to MailSport’s live blog covering the qualifying for the Qatar Grand Prix. Max Verstappen can win the world title for 2023 tomorrow in the Sprint race – while a good qualifying spot will go a long way towards achieving success on Sunday as well.

The qualifying for the Qatar Grand Prix gets underway at 8pm local time, 6pm in the UK, or just under 45 minutes away.

Let’s get racing.