2024 Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix Highlights

Max Verstappen took a masterful victory in a hugely eventful 2024 Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix, a race that featured three Safety Car appearances, numerous incidents and a penalty for Lando Norris that dropped the Briton down the order after earlier battling for the lead.

For fans eagerly following the season’s twists and turns, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix marks the final showdown. This closing race promises even more excitement as teams and drivers aim to end the season on a high note. Want to relive the highlights of the year? Check out the complete list of winners for each race on the Formula 1 calendar.

As expected, this was a hectic weekend for us. In today’s race, two front left tyre punctures were in Sainz’s and Hamilton’s cars. As per procedure, we will now analyse the damaged tyres in detail and select other tyres. The telemetry data we have acquired and onboard footage from the cars will be sent to our laboratory in Milan. In addition, we will carry out all the usual checks on the stresses to which the tyres were subjected.

This track has some rather peculiar characteristics: it is very severe in terms of the energy exerted on the tyres and in terms of tread wear while not leading to a drop in performance. Clearly, this combination of factors can create a situation in which wear levels reach their limit while the teams try to lengthen the stint as much as possible to get the best possible result, and we saw that confirmed today.

In yesterday’s Sprint, in some cases, the level of wear had reached 100% on cars that had started with about one-third the fuel load they took on board for today’s start. At this track, the left front is the tyre subjected to the greatest load, and it’s no coincidence that both punctures were on this tyre. When you reach a certain level, even the smallest piece of debris can cause a situation we witnessed today.

As for the rest, the performance levels of the most used compounds – the C1 and the C2 – were very similar and, as mentioned earlier, with hardly any degradation. Therefore, the level of tyre management required was practically zero, with the drivers able to push as much as they liked, even though they were, in fact, running a one-stop strategy.

The day on the track:

All the drivers opted to start on the Medium tyre, with the exception of Nico Hulkenberg (Haas), who went for the Hard. As expected, the one-stop was the preferred choice for all teams. Apart from those drivers involved in collisions on the opening lap, who had to pit immediately, everyone tried to extend the first stint on the Mediums as much as possible, getting to over half-distance. There were a few exceptions: George Russell (Mercedes) pitted after 23 laps, Valtteri Bottas switched to the Hard on the following lap and Kevin Magnussen (Haas), pitting after 27 laps. For the rest of the field, the run of pit stops began on lap 34, with some coming in when the race was neutralised to switch to the hard tyre. Hulkenberg had already pitted to take on Mediums after lap 30.

The Safety Car made three appearances. At the last two, the chance to pit costing less time induced Williams and Racing Bulls to gamble on the Soft, but it did not pay off, as the characteristics of this track meant the C3 proved to have too much of a drop in performance.

2024 Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix Race Results

2024 Constructor Standings

Here are the team-by-team highlights:

Hear from McLaren Formula 1 drivers Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, and Team Principal Andrea Stella after the 2024 Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix.

Lando gains a position when the lights go out, overtaking Russell for P2, while Oscar drops to P5. Oscar overtakes Leclerc to reclaim P4 following a Lap 1 Safety Car, while Lando holds onto P2. Another safety car was deployed on Lap 35 due to debris being on track. When racing resumes, Lando is in P2 and Oscar in P4. Lando is handed a 10-second stop/go penalty for failing to slow for Yellow Flags, which he serves in the pit lane, returning P15. Oscar gains P3. Lando begins fighting his way back through the field, taking the Fastest Lap on his way into the points, finishing P10. Oscar holds onto P3 at the Chequered Flag, notching his eighth podium of the season so far.

Lando Norris

The team gave me a great car today. It was the quickest out there, so I’m disappointed we haven’t been able to secure maximum points in Qatar. I know the rules around Yellow Flags, but I missed it. I have to take that on the chin. I can only apologise to the team.

We have one more weekend to go now, and we’ll head to Abu Dhabi with the same mindset as any other weekend, and that’s wanting to win.

Oscar Piastri

I am happy with that. I enjoyed the race. It’s a mega track, so it’s nice to come away with another podium. There were some good battles on track, but it was challenging as the cars at the front seemed to have a similar pace. It was tough to get into DRS, and then far enough into DRS to overtake, but it was still fun, nonetheless. We were just unlucky with the timing of the Safety Car, but that’s racing. It will take everything we’ve got to seal the deal next week. It’s going to be an exciting one.

Andrea Stella

The positives from today’s race are that we had a powerful car and were in contention for the victory. Oscar drove a solid race but was unlucky with the timing of the Safety Car, which dropped him behind Leclerc, but that’s the way it goes sometimes in racing. Lando was very fast, and the way he clawed his way back into the points after the penalty was impressive. It isn’t the result we wanted overall, but it is what we have.

Regarding the main incident of the race, the sector appeared to go yellow just as Lando entered it – but the requirements are clear: you need to lift, and it’s the responsibility of the drivers to recognise they are in a yellow sector and back off. However, in the future, we recommend that the FIA consider that proportionality and specificity should be guaranteed in any penalties applied.

Moving on from that, we now go to Abu Dhabi. We remain focused and determined to finish the job as a team.

Oracle Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen showed his championship qualities with a commanding drive to victory in an incident-packed 2024 Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix, the season’s penultimate race.

The newly crowned four-time world champion had qualified in pole position for the Grand Prix but was later docked a position for slowing another driver on his cool-down lap. However, this did nothing to slow the Dutchman; after passing pole-sitter George Russell on the run into Turn 1, he controlled the race. Not even three separate Safety Car incidents could throw Verstappen off, and he cruised home 6.031s ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, while MacLaren’s Oscar Piastri claimed the final podium position.

Team-mate Sergio Pérez’s Grand Prix ended early, on Lap 38 of the 57-lap race, when the Mexican suffered a mechanical issue with his RB20 that saw him suddenly lose power and spin before limping into the run-off area, having being dealt his fourth DNF of the season.

Max Verstappen, Driver, Red Bull Racing

I enjoyed the race quite a lot overall, especially at the beginning when Lando and I pushed each other quite hard. We were leading by Turn 1 after starting P2 and were able to maximise and get the tyres in the right window. The car felt much better, and I enjoyed it a lot out there today. It was nice to win in the dry as well; it has been quite a few races since we achieved that. It was definitely not a boring race,e and there was a lot to manage with the restarts and safety cars throughout, but we learned from that and were able to stay in front. I am very proud to win here in Qatar, and proud of the Team for our performances this weekend, it is a great track and one of my favourites on the calendar. We have to make sure we nail our setup in Abu Dhabi and to hopefully finish the season with another great race.

Sergio Pérez, Driver, Red Bull Racing:

Things were looking good at the time for me, I was sitting in P5 and we were in the mix for the podium. Then as I was warming up the tyre, getting ready for the restart, I had a massive over delivery as I was picking up the throttle out of turn 12. With cold tyres I couldn’t control it, it basically meant I lost the car and then lost drive from that point onwards. It is quite disappointing to end up like this. There were some positive signs for me this weekend with performance and I think we have learnt a lot from the car this weekend and found good direction. I think the season hasn’t been great for me, there has been a lot of up and downs and we have a few things to review there. We are all in this together as a Team and we are trying to get our season back on track, hopefully Abu Dhabi can do that and we can have a strong weekend.

CHRISTIAN HORNER, CEO and Team Principal

That was another masterclass from Max. He was focused and in control throughout the race, his management of the tyres in that first stint was exceptional. I think the team did an excellent job turning around and delivering a car that Max could really put his stamp on. It was a shame to lose out on Pole but if anything it gave Max more determination and motivation to lead into turn 1, it was an unbelievable performance by Max and the Team. Full credit to the engineering staff for making some big decisions and unlocking the potential of the car here it meant Max had Lando covered throughout the race. It was a little bit crazy here with the punctures but the Team reacted and dealt with everything that came their way, the crew and everybody did a super job.

Scuderia Ferrari HP heads to the season’s final round in Abu Dhabi next week to hunt for the Constructors’ World Championship title. On a track the team feared would not suit it, Charles Leclerc finished second in a race that saw little overtaking but plenty of high drama and tension. Carlos Sainz was unlucky, clawing his way back to sixth at the flag after suffering a half-distance puncture. The team therefore picked up 35 points this weekend – 26 today, 9 in yesterday’s Sprint bringing the gap to McLaren down from 24 to 21 points, while there are 44 up for grabs at Yas Marina. 

This is the first time since 2012 that Ferrari is in with a shot at the title in the very last round. The team was fully focused on today’s race and was able to deal with moments of great difficulty. Carlos did a great job on track, completing a full lap with one wheel dragging on the ground, trying to lose as little time as possible. As for Charles, at every restart, he had to fend off the attentions of Piastri, who was more able to get his tyres up to temperature.

Carlos Sainz #55

I’m obviously not happy with the outcome of today’s race. We were in a strong position, but unfortunately, I got a puncture and had to complete an entire lap with a flat tyre. After the pit stop, the Safety Car came out, so the whole situation cost us even more time and, ultimately, some crucial positions. Dragging the car for an entire lap led to some damage, and the car felt a bit off, making things difficult for the last stint. That said, I’m pleased I managed to bring the car home, and together with Charles’ podium, we scored important points. We will fight until the last lap of the Abu Dhabi race for the championship and hopefully finish the season in the best way possible.

Charles Leclerc #16

We expected this to be a difficult weekend for us, so I’m happy with how the race went today, having made up some points on McLaren. We had some luck on my side and a bit less on Carlos’s with the puncture. We may have been able to finish second and third had it not been for that, which is a shame teamwise, but overall, it was positive to be this competitive here. Driving for such an iconic team as Ferrari, it would be fantastic for us to finish the season by bringing the constructors’ title back to Maranello. It won’t be easy to score the points we need to win the title in a single weekend, but everything is still possible, and we will do absolutely everything to achieve it.

Frédéric Vasseur – Team Principal

The most important thing today is that we scored more points than McLaren. We are now 21 points behind, with one race to go, which means everything is possible. We have also increased our lead over Red Bull, which means that in Abu Dhabi, we can focus more on the team in front of us. The race today was a bit chaotic, but overall, it was a good one for us: we executed it well, the pace was great, and I’m delighted with the job we did today. It was in our plan that the drivers would not push too hard for the first laps in order to push more later on, and we were confident we had the pace on the Hard to push until the end. We have some regrets, such as Carlos’ puncture, which came at the worst place, as he had to drive a full lap before pitting, which cost us one or two positions. Now we go to Abu Dhabi, which, on paper, should be a better circuit for us. With Max and Mercedes at the pace, you never know what could happen in the championship battle. We will push flat out to the final chequered flag.

George Russell finished P4, while Lewis Hamilton crossed the line P12 at the 2024 Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix. Unfortunately, both cars lost positions at the start, with George dropping from P1 to P3 and Lewis losing out from P6 to P9.

Unfortunately, a slow stop for George on lap 24 resulted in him losing an additional three places and from there, he struggled to make gains due to the shortened DRS zone despite pushing hard. Lap 35 saw a front left puncture for Lewis after running over debris on the main straight. This forced him to box on lap 36 when he also served his five-second penalty for a false start. A drive-through penalty was also handed to Lewis following a failure to activate the pitlane speed limiter behind the Safety Car. He served this on lap 48.

Additionally, George landed a five-second time penalty at the end of the race for a safety car delta infringement. This didn’t impact his P4 result. The Team’s attention now turns to the season’s final race next weekend in Abu Dhabi.

George Russell

It was a very strange race because our pace had been so strong all weekend, but it just didn’t seem to be there today. Overall, my race wasn’t great, I had a bad start then poor pace and finally a penalty at the end of the race. We ultimately didn’t have the pace on the hard tyre we thought we would and were not quick enough compared to those around us. Max and Lando managed to pass by at the start, but I didn’t have the speed to catch them again. Even after the pit stop, I struggled to make it back through and regain my position.

The car was great all day Friday and yesterday, so we must understand where that pace went for us today. Both Lewis and I made terrible starts, and we have some idea why, but we need to fully understand how we lost the performance that we showed in the Sprint. I think, ultimately, you can see how you only need to gain two-tenths or lose two-tenths, and you go from being a front-runner to being down in P6 or P7, so I hope we can have the car from yesterday and Vegas next week in Abu Dhabi. It would be great if we could hopefully have a better weekend together as a Team.

Lewis Hamilton

It was a pretty bad race for me overall, but these things happen. It started off badly with my false start, which was my fault and resulted in a penalty which I served during my stop. Then I had the puncture, which was just unfortunate, followed by the pitlane speeding, which was on me, too. The car had a lot of understeer today because we didn’t have enough front wing in the setup. I gave it my best shot, but it all seemed to go downhill from the start.

This race weekend hasn’t been great, but we have another week next week where we can try and finish a bit better, and I hope we do have a better result. These last races don’t have an impact on all of the great things we have done together as a Team. Races are a rollercoaster ride of emotions, I’ve had great races in my life and bad races too. Ultimately, it’s not how you fall. It’s how you get back up, and we will try again next week.

Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO

Today, we ultimately don’t have the pace. Our car is a handful to drive on its worst days, and today was one of those days. Both drivers had a similar experience. I think if the race had been yesterday, then we would have had a shot at winning, but today, we just didn’t have the speed behind Lando and Max. The car was super difficult for Lewis and George to drive; we had a lot of understeer, and both suffered from that. We started to lose ground from those ahead of us, and that’s when we decided to box George and hopefully put us in a better situation. Unfortunately, we suffered a slow stop, ended up in traffic and struggled to make it back through. Then, with Lewis, we had the false start and pit lane speeding, which further impacted his race along with the lack of pace.

We have one more to go, and we will continue to give it our utmost. We will celebrate the relationship and partnership we have had with Lewis and these difficult races will be forgotten quickly. We have had an amazing partnership with Lewis that’s spanned over twelve years, with six driver titles and eight constructors’ titles winning together, and these are the things that we will hold dearly.

With high speeds and flowing corners, it’s the season’s penultimate race and the year’s final Sprint. Get the thoughts of Lance and Fernando below after the 2024 Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix.

Fernando Alonso

It was a perfect Sunday for us, finishing seventh and scoring six points. The car felt a little stronger than yesterday, and we capitalised on some of the actions ahead of us, including retirements and penalties, but we were in the right place at the right time tonight. It’s a good time to get some points on the board for the team, and hopefully, we can carry this form into Abu Dhabi and finish the season on a high there.

Lance Stroll

The car wasn’t feeling right from the start of the race. I locked the front left at Turn 2, which was strange because it’s not a corner for which you brake that much. Then at Turn 5 I made contact with Alex [Albon] which was completely unintentional. I wasn’t trying to race him; I was just trying to hold my line on the inside of the corner, but I picked up massive levels of understeer. Maybe my tyres weren’t working correctly because I couldn’t do anything about it. Retiring from the race is a shame, but we’ll go again in Abu Dhabi next weekend.

Mike Krack, Team Principal:

It was an action-packed Qatar Grand Prix where we scored six critical points with a strong seventh place for Fernando. It was a race where our patience paid off with good strategy. It is such a shame that Lance was forced to retire early because he would have scored points as well.

Lance’s car got caught up in the busy first-lap battles, and there was contact with Alex Albon, which looked to be a racing incident from our perspective. Lance reported feeling something strange with the car, which impacted performance, and we retired the car soon after that. It’s onwards now to Abu Dhabi, the final race of the season, where we will look to score more points and end the year on a high note.

Visa Cash App RB’s Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson fought hard through the stop-start 2024 Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix but struggled for a serious race pace and missed out on the points. Tsunoda finished the race in 13th place, with Lawson just 1.5s behind in 14th.

Liam Lawson

We weren’t quick enough to be fighting with the teams we needed to be today. I had a spin on the first safety car restart when I tried to overtake Bottas. I didn’t have enough temperature in the tyres, lost the car, and tried hard not to make contact. After this, we caught the pack up, and our pace wasn’t alarming, but we were out of position. We also experienced balance issues towards the end of the race. It was a tough race. We also struggled here last year. We’ve made big steps this season, but more must be taken. Ultimately, we lost many points to our competitors, which we will fight hard for in Abu Dhabi.

Yuki Tsunoda

Today, we had a tough race. We had a good start, and I knew it was the best opportunity for us to gain some positions, but after that, we simply started to have a lack of pace and lost positions. We will work together as a team to review the data and get some learning for the future to understand what didn’t work this weekend. Abu Dhabi is next week. Now, we all need to reset, and we’ll be going there giving our best for the last race weekend of the season.

TIM GOSS – Chief Technical OFFICER

A disappointing day for us today. Both drivers performed well at the start and put us in a strong position to deliver a points finish. But just as in the Sprint, it soon became apparent that we were well short of our usual race pace at this circuit and struggled to defend our place in the points. Our engineers and strategy team did their best to recover the situation, even trying the Option tyre compound for the final part of the race. We have plenty of data to work through, and the technical team won’t rest until we understand why we struggled today. We will put every effort into delivering a much better race car for the drivers to compete with in Abu Dhabi.

MoneyGram Haas F1 Team finished with Kevin Magnussen ninth – scoring two points, while Nico Hulkenberg retired, at the 2024 Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix, Round 23 of the World Championship, held Sunday at the Lusail International Circuit.

Kevin Magnussen

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal

Two separate Lap 1 incidents impacted Williams Racing’s hopes of picking up points from the 2024 Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix after Franco Colapinto retired and Alex Albon made a tyre gamble that ended his race in P15.

Alex Albon

Franco Colapinto

Esteban Ocon started from P20 on New Mediums, DNF. Pierre Gasly started from P11 on New Mediums and finished P5. Pit-Stop on Lap 35 for New Hards. Fastest Lap: 1min 23.705secs.

Esteban Ocon

Unfortunately, it was a disappointing weekend and a short race for me today in Qatar. I had a good start to the race and passed Franco [Colapinto]; I was on the left side of Nico [Hülkenberg] but was at the wrong place at the wrong time. It got very narrow, and unfortunately, I was already on the outside when the collision occurred, and our race was then over. It was a race incident and not something that we wanted today.

Pierre Gasly

It was an incredible race today to finish in fifth place, and I’m very happy for the team. I felt like we managed the race well right from the beginning. It was a tough start, but we had the pace to stay with Kevin [Magnussen], and once he pitted, it was flat out for us lap after lap. In the end, with the Safety Car, we pitted for Hards and then had to keep Carlos [Sainz] behind all the way until the chequered flag. It was an enjoyable race; the car felt good, we were competitive, and I was confident I would hang on to that fifth place. We go into the final round in the fight for the Constructors’ Championship, and we have to be ready for it.

Oliver Oakes – Team Principal

It was a well-managed and well-executed race by the entire team today to score ten points in fifth place with Pierre. For Esteban, he was caught in a Turn 1 incident, which was not his fault. The race was incredibly fast-paced, with a lot of action up and down the field. Pierre did well to stay in the pack in the hunt for points early on and then benefitted from the timing of the Safety Car, like many others, for his mandatory stop. He did an even better job of keeping Carlos [Sainz] at bay for fifth place while managing the tyres and saving some fuel. Importantly, we go to the season-ending race in sixth place in the Constructors’ Championship with a small advantage, and the target has to be to remain in that position.

At the 2024 Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix, Zhou Guanyu delivered a standout performance, achieving a career-best eighth-place finish and earning KICK Sauber F1 Team their first points of the season. Zhou demonstrated exceptional composure and skill, navigating two safety car periods and intense midfield battles with precise overtakes and consistent pace. His performance was a testament to his growth as a driver and his ability to capitalise on opportunities in challenging conditions.

Valtteri Bottas also showcased a strong drive, maintaining a competitive pace in the midfield and executing several impressive overtakes despite dealing with a damaged floor that hindered his chances of finishing in the points. Both drivers were supported by the team’s flawless pit stops, which played a critical role in maximising their race potential.

This result highlighted Zhou’s career milestone and Valtteri’s resilience, underlining the team’s ability to challenge the midfield and setting a promising tone for the remainder of the season.

Valtteri Bottas

Today was frustrating, as everything seemed to go against me after a good start. The incident with Lawson cost me track position and gave me floor damage, and from there, I was on the back foot. Zhou was ahead of me and had the first pick on strategy. The team pitted me early to learn about the hard tyre’s performance, and the Safety Car’s timing couldn’t have been worse: I finished 11th in the end — so close to the points, which makes it all the more disappointing. That said, I’m happy for Zhou and the team. It’s been a challenging year, and his P8 is a well-deserved result for everyone who has worked so hard this season. Now it’s off to Abu Dhabi, where I hope we can finish on a high note. The team has shown we can be competitive, so let’s see what we can achieve in the final race.

Zhou Guanyu

What a race! I’m incredibly happy for the entire team. Today was all about delivering a strong performance, and we did just that. We had a great pace, stayed clean, and executed our strategy perfectly, making overtakes when it mattered most. It’s a massive boost for everyone involved. Finally, scoring some points feels like a huge reward for all the hard work and resilience we’ve shown this season. Given where we started and our challenges, this result means so much more. Shout out to the team for delivering a great race.

Alessandro Alunni Bravi, Team Representative

Our team has had a significant day in Doha. Zhou’s P8 is a result that means a lot to us and reflects the immense effort of our people in Hinwil, those here trackside, and our shareholders. It was a challenging race where every detail mattered. Zhou drove superbly, managing his tyres well and staying in control, while our strategy change to extend his stint and pit under the Safety Car on lap 35 proved decisive. His strong pace on hard tyres secured this vital result for him and the team. Valtteri also contributed strongly to our result, finishing just outside the points in P11. His early stop allowed us to gather crucial data on the hard tyres, benefiting Zhou’s strategy. Unfortunately, Lawson pushed him off at the restart, which caused damage to his floor and effectively cost us the chance of a double-points finish. We’re grateful to all our partners and Ferrari for their support. There’s still a lot of work ahead for us, but if we continue with this intensity, we can look forward to a bright future.