F1

LEWIS HAMILTON will start the Qatar Grand Prix on pole after a superb drive in qualifying. The Mercedes star was at his best to see off the challenge of both Max Verstappen and teammate Valtteri Bottas.

Race time: Sunday 2pm
TV/Live stream: Sky Sports F1/NOW TV

Follow all the latest with our live blog from Qatar below…
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HAMILTON TAKES POLE
He starts P1 in Qatar tomorrow.

VERSTAPPEN HAS TO SETTLE FOR SECOND
Pierre Gasly has a terrifying blowout and stops on the finish line. It means Verstappen slows down, not that he was able to better Hamilton’s time by the looks of the lap.

YELLOW FLAGS
They have slowed the progress of the final runs…
STONKING LAP FROM HAMILTON
That is even quicker, mega job from the Brit.
HAMILTON IS GOING EVEN QUICKER
He is looking to take this pole comfortably.
HAMILTON TAKES PROVISIONAL POLE
Verstappen only has enough for second after their first runs.
The gap is 0.162 seconds. Bottas in third but Gasly in P4 is a mega effort.
Especially when Perez was eliminated from Q2.

Q3 IS GO – THE FIGHT FOR POLE BEGINS
What can Verstappen do to stop this Mercedes pressure?
ELIMINATED FROM Q2
Russell, Riccardo, Leclerc, Stroll and Perez are all knocked out and fail to make it into the top 10.
Both Alpines and both AlphaTauris are in to the top 10.

BLOW FOR RED BULL
Perez is eliminated from Q2. That’s a big shock for the Mexican. It also means it is a big problem for their strategy in the race, as he will not offer any help to Verstappen.
He was also on the soft tyres, which were supposed to the be quickest.
BIG DAY IN QATAR TOMORROW
It marks one year until the FIFA World Cup Finals start in the country.
FIFA boss Gianni Infantino is here today meeting FIA President, Jean Todt.
Q2 IS GO
Busy track already. Hamilton and Bottas are both on track.

Q1 IS DONE – USUAL SUSPECTS GIVEN THE BOOT
Mazepin, Schumacher, Giovinazzi, Latifi and Raikkonen are out. Russell makes it into the Q2 knockout.

LECLERC SCRAPES INTO Q2
The Ferrari man just makes it into the top 15.
EARLY PACE FROM HAMILTON
He leads the session and heads Verstappen. Still a long way to go.
Mazepin, Ocon, Alonso, Schuamcher and Giovinazzi are currently in the drop zone.

GREEN LIGHT – QUALIFYING IS GO IN QATAR
Hamilton verses Verstappen. Take your seats, this is going to be interesting. Merc clearly have had the quicker car all weekend, but were Red Bull keeping their powder dry?
Also, remember these is that threat looming of a Red Bull protests.

BUTTON ON RUSSELL
Jenson Button opened up about George Russell’s performances for Williams.
Button, who is also a senior advisor at Williams, said: “They’ve been struggling with the balance of the car.
“So George has not been able to bring it out on a Saturday, which is a shame.
“Hopefully he will this weekend because it’s a little bit more about qualifying than the race”
BRUNDLE ON RUSSELL
Formula One great Martin Brundle was critical of Williams star George Russell.
Russell has three races left until he teams up with fellow Brit Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes.
Brundle told Sky Sports: “He’s been a bit anonymous, lately in the races.
“It’s not been going that well”
BRUNDLE REACTS
Formula One legend Martin Brundle discussed Mercedes and Red Bull’s rivalry, which he described as “personal”.
Brundle told Sky Sports: “It’s getting personal, without doubt.
“The pressure is on, on and off the track, there’s pointing fingers all over the place, and I think it’s just a question of how close the drivers are and how close the cars are.
“Unsurprisingly, the tension is rising”
MAZEPIN SITUATION
Haas star Nikita Mazepin’s race was over before it even started.
Mazepin missed Q2 due to a chassis change and his Haas mechanics wheeled him back into the garage

FLAT BUT NOT OUT
Ferrari star Charles Leclerc went spinning during Turn 2.
Leclerc suffered tyre issues but didn’t have any other problems as he finished the third practice session

RESULTS
A strong showing by Mercedes in the third practice run in Qatar.
Valtteri Bottas finished first with team-mate Lewis Hamilton behind him in second.
Red Bull rival Max Verstappen made it third with his partner Sergio Perez in fifth.
Pierre Gassly is fourth in between the Red Bull stars.
More below:

FP3 IS DONE – BOTTAS TOPS THE SESSION
The Finn is 0.078 seconds quicker than Hamilton, it is close.
Verstappen is 0.341 seconds off the pace. Not a huge gap, but again it proves the Mercedes is again the faster car.
Qualifying up next.
SPINS FOR LECLERC AND SCHUMACHER
Some struggling out there in the final few minutes of practice.

THREE WAY FIGHT AT THE TOP
Bottas v Hamilton v Verstappen – this is shaping up to be another fantastic fight.

BOTTAS TOPS THE SESSION
However, here are the fastest sector times. It is close in Doha

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MAX VERSTAPPEN and Lewis Hamilton are continuing their epic title tussle in Qatar this weekend.After the Mercedes star stormed back to win in style last week in Brazil, the season now heads to the desert and the Losail Circuit.

Bottas leads after practice 1 & 2
UK start time: FP2 from 2pm
TV/Live stream: Sky Sports F1/NOW TV

Follow all the latest with our live blog from Qatar below…
LEW WINGS IT INTO CHEAT STORM
Lewis Hamilton is at the centre of an F1 cheat storm.
Bitter title rivals Red Bull are threatening to protest the legality of his Mercedes car.

Red Bull chief Christian Horner claims its rear wing breaks FIA rules by flexing too much at speed – giving Hamilton a huge amount of extra pace.
And ahead of this weekend’s crucial Qatar Grand Prix, Horner declared: “The straight line performance in the last two Grands Prix has gone exponential and that concerns us.
“Make no bones about it, if we see it on the car here it will be protested. If we believe the Mercedes car is not in compliance, we will protest.”
Hamilton fought back from grid penalties totalling 25 places to win the last GP in Brazil – cutting the gap to Red Bull’s championship leader Max Verstappen to 14 points.
Mercedes insist their car is legal and team boss Toto Wolff declared: “Nobody would show up with an illegal engine or rear wing.
“The world is too transparent for that.”
ONE STAPP AT A TIME
Championship leader Max Verstappen is remaining patient after guiding his Red Bull to third-fastest in practice.
He said: “Still a lot of things to look at because everything is still so new.”
HAMILTON: I’M NOT CLOSE
Lewis Hamilton admitted work needs to be done to speed him over night.
The Brit said: “I’m definitely not close. I’m a little bit slow, so we need to figure that out tonight.”
PRACTICE RECAP
Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas topped the pace, 0.209 seconds ahead of Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly.
Red Bull’s Championship leader Max Verstappen pipped Bottas’ team-mate Lewis Hamilton for third by a tiny 0.072secs.
HORNER IGNITES ROW WITH WOLFF
Panto season came early in Doha after Red Bull boss Christian Horner and Merc boss Toto Wolff bickered like a pair of ugly sisters.
It came after a FIVE DAY rendition of ‘oh yes he did..’ ended with the FIA deciding that ‘oh, not he didn’t’ with regards to Max Verstappen illegally forcing Lewis Hamilton off track in Brazil.
Mercedes’ request for a right to review was turned down by the stewards as the Qatar GP turned into a right old carry on.
And it sparked a bitter fall out between Horner and Wolff on stage, with the Red Bull chief taunting his rival.
When quizzed about their relationship, Horner said: “There is no relationship.

“This is the first time they have been challenged and it is interesting to see how people react when they are challenged.
“Relationships and respect are different things, there is respect for everything Mercedes have done, everything Lewis Hamilton has done.
“I don’t need to go to dinner with Toto, I don’t need to kiss his a***. It is a competition, it is great that we are in this position and fighting.
“Toto and I are very different characters and operate in different ways.
“Am going to be spending Christmas with Toto? Probably not…Unless you’re in panto this year, I might take the kids!
“From my perspective it is F1, you don’t have to be best mates with your opponents. How can you be?
“It would be dishonest in many respects to fake a facade when you’re competing against your rivals.”
LEWIS RACING WITH PRIDE
Lewis Hamilton will wear the Pride flag at the Qatar GP because he believes sport is ‘duty bound to raise awareness’ in countries criticised over human rights.
Britain’s world champ is to parade the message ‘We Stand Together’ on his crash helmet rather than the usual “Still I Rise”
Qatar is hosting its first Grand Prix on Sunday as part of a 10-year deal with F1.
And the Guardian report Hamilton as saying: “We’re aware there are issues in these places that we’re going to.
“But of course [Qatar] seems to be deemed as one of the worst in this part of the world.
“As sports go to these places, they are duty-bound to raise awareness for these issues. These places need scrutiny. Equal rights is a serious issue.”

HOW FUN
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen says he enjoyed today’s second practice race ahead of the Qatar GP.
It was important for the Dutchman to get a feel of the track for the first time but other than that he found it quite fun.
He said: “It was the first time [we ran] in the evening, so it was important to understand how the car would react.
“Quite a bit of the change between the medium and the soft tyre I think for me, that’s why on the soft tyre it wasn’t let’s say amazing, but again you know it’s our first time here, so a lot of things to understand.
“You need to learn the track a bit, but it’s been a lot of fun to drive to be honest. I think it’s a really cool track.
NOT BOTHERED
Lewis Hamilton has insisted that he isn’t thinking about the F1’s decision not to punish Max Verstappen.
Mercedes’ request to review the decision not to penalise Verstappen was rejected but Hamilton claims it doesn’t bother him because he wasn’t part of the proceedings.
Instead, the Brit revealed he’s been focusing on closing the gap on Verstappen this weekend in the Qatar GP.
Hamilton said: “I don’t have any thoughts on it because I wasn’t a part of it and I have been focusing on trying to do my weekend.”
BELOW STANDARD
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has launched a scathing attack on Max Verstappen for forcing Lewis Hamilton off the at Interlagos last weekend.
The FIA decided not to penalise Verstappen for the alleged offence, but Wolff thinks Verstappen’s behaviour was below the standard of a F1 driver.
He raged: “I think what you see on the video is clear to everybody who has ever raced a car.
“Obviously, it is far away from any of the levels that any driver in Formula 1 can do. That corner was not meant to be a corner where he stayed on track, and he didn’t mean to stay on track.
“That is my personal interpretation, but I shouldn’t be judging anyone’s driving because if I could, I should be driving and not sitting in a chair making comments.”
ALL OVER
That’s it for today, Bottas finishes top while Gasly comes in at second.
While Verstappen and Hamilton end the second practice in third and fourth respectively.
STANDINGS
Here’s how things stand with only 10 minutes to go.

Bottas 1:23.148
Gasly +0.209
Verstappen +0.350
Hamilton +0.422
Norris
Stroll
Tsunoda
Perez
Vettel
Sainz

MAX OVERLAP
Max Verstappen has flown past Hamilton.
But he’s still only third, behind Pierre Gasly and more than three tenths behind Bottas out in front.
GASLY SPEEDS
Pierre Gasly has overtaken Lewis Hamilton to clinch second on the timesheet for AlphaTauri with a speed of 0.209s.
SLOW MAX
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen finishes lap 0.4 seconds down on Valtteri Bottas.
That 1:23.579, which leaves him fourth, isn’t much quicker than what he managed on the medium tyres.
PEREZ TROUBLE
Sergio Perez was going for a hot lap, but encountered traffic around the Turns 4-5 double right complex.
Slow-mo shots of Perez on the pit straight show the top edge of his rear wing flapping to an alarming degree.
MAX SPEED
Valtteri Bottas only went a half-second faster than Max Verstappen on the soft tyre.
BOT SPOT
Valtteri Bottas is the first on-track and lowers his existing benchmark at the top of the timesheet.
Lewis Hamilton only makes a small improvement himself and stays second.
TOP OFF
Ferrari had the engine cover off Charles Leclerc’s car. They seem to have fixed the problem and he looks set to resume.
PROBLEM FOR HAMILTON?
Strange. He is out of his Merc. There could yet be another big development here in Doha.
FP2 IS GO – GREEN LIGHT IN QATAR
Second session is underway here. Verstappen topped FP1 and remember, has been told he will not face any further retrospective action from his defence to Hamilton in Brazil.
NO MOVEMENT
Lewis Hamilton has slammed the press for suggesting his steering wheel moved in the Brazil GP.
When asked about his steering column’s alleged movement, Hamilton said: “My steering column doesn’t move forwards and backwards.
“We had that last year, we don’t have it now. On Saturday there was a little bit of play in it, less than a millimetre probably, that I don’t like so they had to change the column and (then) there was no play.
“So I’m not really sure what you’re watching.”
MAX LET OFF 
Mercedes have had their request to review Max Verstappen’s move on Lewis Hamilton DENIED by Formula One stewards.
The incident occurred on lap 48 of the Brazil GP as Verstappen cut in front of Hamilton, forcing both men off the track.
The Brit ultimately went on to win the race and cut Verstappen’s lead in the driver standings to just 14 points.
But Mercedes still pressed for F1 stewards to review the footage with Verstappen possibly facing a penalty.
After FOUR days of deliberation the request has been denied and Verstappen has escaped without punishment.
New footage had emerged from Verstappen’s on-board camera, but that has been deemed ‘relevant’ but not ‘significant’ by the FIA.
NOT FAIR
Ralf Schumacher has questioned Mercedes engine change and thinks they shouldn’t have been allowed to do so mid-season.
According to Ralf, engines should only be changed when needed, not because of wear and tear which was the case for Mercedes.
He told Sky: “Mercedes only changed it because it was showing too much wear from the previous races. It wasn’t broken,” the German insists.
“But that’s not the point of Formula 1. I find it a bit questionable.
“In my opinion, an engine should only be changed when it has to be. And if Mercedes has more wear and tear and less performance than the others, that’s their problem.
“You shouldn’t be able to take advantage like this.”
LEW ARE BRILLIANT
Lewis Hamilton has been praised by fans for wearing a rainbow helmet at the Qatar Grand Prix in support of the LGBTQ+ community.
Homosexuality is criminalised in Qatar, where this weekend’s crucial race takes place.
During today’s practice, Hamilton donned a rainbow-coloured helmet, in solidarity with those that are persecuted simply for their sexuality in the gulf state.
The back of the helmet featured the message: “We stand together.”
Fans were impressed with the 36-year-old’s gesture.
One wrote on social media: “WAIT is Hamilton wearing a pride flag on his helmet this weekend in f***ing QATAR? I love this man.”
A second added: “Big balls move, like it.”
And another commented: “I may not be a fan of him but I can f***ing respect that.”
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