Russell and Hamilton will start from P2 and P3 at McLaren's expense

Lando Norris looked to be driving towards a great second time in qualifying for the Qatar Grand Prix. Meanwhile, Oscar Piastri qualified in fourth place. However, both McLaren drivers saw their times scrapped for exceeding track limits, throwing the second and third starting positions into the hands of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton.

Mercedes benefits from McLaren's deleted lap times

That Norris had to fear for his place next to Max Verstappen on the front row of the grid was already indicated by the McLaren driver during his out-lap. Not long after, his lap time was indeed dashed, meaning he will have to start from 10th rather than second on Sunday. As a result, Russell was promoted from P3 to P2.

Consequently, it was not Norris, but his teammate Piastri who appeared at the interviews after qualifying. At that moment, however, a bizarre scene occurred: during his interview, the message appeared on screen that Piastri had also lost his lap time. As a result, he will have to start Sunday's Formula 1 race from sixth place. As a result, Lewis Hamilton will now start from P3, while Fernando Alonso and Charles Leclerc also gained an additional place.