Max Verstappen, who could just start the
Qatar Grand Prix as a three-time world champion, has secured the best starting position for Sunday's
Formula 1 race. However, he has two eager
Mercedes drivers in his wake. Can he fend off the attacks of
George Russell and
Lewis Hamilton?
Even at Mercedes, opinions are divided on the matter. Russell expects to wave off Verstappen at the start, while Hamilton does not know why he would not be able to do battle with the
Red Bull Racing driver.
The Mercedes drivers had luck on their side during qualifying, as they initially had to beat
McLaren drivers
Lando Norris and
Oscar Piastri. However, Norris and Piastri both saw their lap times scrapped for exceeding track limits, making them start from P10 and P6 respectively on Sunday.
Provisional starting grid Qatar GP