F1 Qatar GP Live Commentary and Updates - Race
Minute-by-minute updates of the 2024 Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix
The Formula 1 drivers' world championship is already decided, but there's still everything to play for in the manufacturers' standings as Qatar hosts the penultimate round of the season.
George Russell starts from pole position for Mercedes after Max Verstappen was handed a one-place grid penalty for driving too slowly during a Q3 prep lap, which required the Briton to take evasive action.
The second row is locked out by McLaren, with Lando Norris seeking to mirror his wheel-perfect performance from the sprint race. That had looked set to yield victory, until he handed victory to team-mate Oscar Piastri exiting the final corner - a pre-planned gesture to repay the Australian for ceding the Brazilian GP sprint to Norris.
The Qatar GP starts at 1600 GMT.
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With Norris' penalty, Sauber are now on track to score points for the first time this year with Zhou in eighth!
Norris comes in to serve his penalty and drops to last. That will be a big talking point afterwards.
Hamilton is now being looked at for speeding in the pitlane. This could be a second sanction for him this race.
That will open the door for Leclerc to move into second and could result in a big swing towards Ferrari in the constructors' championship fight. High drama in Qatar.
Big development - Norris has a 10s stop-go penalty for failing to slow under yellow flags. That will destroy his race.
"I have a vibration," says Piastri who asks his team to check sparks on the left front. Could this race be swinging a bit more towards Ferrari in the battle for the constructors' standings? On the flip side to that, Sainz is under pressure from leading medium runner Alonso in seventh - replays showed that Sainz was having a go at Russell when he lost out to Gasly before Hulkenberg's spin brought out that second safety car.
Hamilton has sunk like a stone to 14th on the restart, with Bottas and Tsunoda on softer rubber both getting past.
Verstappen went aggressive on that restart and Norris had to defend hard to hold off Leclerc.
Back to green once again.
"You're P12," Mercedes tells Hamilton.
"The car's messed up mate," he responds.
Safety car in this lap, we are told. Meanwhile Norris has been noted for failing to slow under yellow flags.
Replays appear to show that there was no contact on Perez, who simply lost it. There was no damage on the front of Gasly, the car following him, but there will be to his tyres after he locked up trying to fend off Russell into Turn 1. The initially dropped behind Sainz too, but has retaken that sixth position - with Russell gaining two thanks to Perez's demise.
Tsnuoda and Lawson have both stopped again under the safety car to remove their hard tyres and fit soft rubber.
What a dramatic restart that was. Norris very nearly had the lead, but Verstappen was not giving anything up.
Virtual safety car deployed.
And another out of the race as Perez trudges away - Hulkenberg is beached in the gravel further around the lap.
Perez was hit at Turn 15 after losing drive.
We are back to green. Norris goes for it at the restart, but Verstappen shows him to the run-off!
Perez appears to have stopped and is last of those still running.
Here's your top 10 as we come to the restart: Verstappen, Norris, Leclerc, Piastri, Perez, Gasly, Russell, Sainz, Zhou and Alonso - the leading medium runner.
Albon and Williams have taken a gamble and fitted the soft tyre. But these lasted only a couple of laps for Zhou in the sprint race, so he will almost certainly be forced to stop again.
The safety car will come in this lap, we are told.
Hamilton and Bottas have now been informed they can unlap themselves. But Norris is not happy with his compatriot and believes Hamilton brake-tested him on the way into the pits. He informs McLaren of a possible double flat-spot.
Replays on Alonso's stop and he was released side-by-side with Magnussen and the pair ran together through the pitlane. That could well be looked at.
Verstappen in any case has a buffer between himself and Norris in the form of Hamilton. Norris just locked up coming into the pits, following the Mercedes, which may have damaged his hards.
Verstappen has asked Red Bull for an update on Norris apparently not lifting for yellow flags on the main straight. He's told that conversations are ongoing with race control.
The timing screens have now updated to show that Piastri is back ahead of Perez, so has only lost one spot to Leclerc.
The drivers have run through the pits while marshals clear up the track on the pit straight.
"Why have we put hards on? Why have we put hards back on? They're f*****g s**t."
Russell is less than impressed with Mercedes' latest strategy call.
This is disastrous for Haas in the fight in the battle for sixth in the constructors’, as Magnussen had stopped pre-safety car and now Gasly is running sixth having stopped under the neutralisation.
It has to be said, that race direction should have dealt with the problem as soon as it became evident. Running with yellow flag cover for a handful of laps simply delayed the inevitable. A poor, poor, sequence of events.
Sainz has rejoined after his puncture in 10th, while Hamilton is 16th. Their races have been utterly destroyed. Surely there can be no coincidence that their punctures happened moments after Bottas crushed the errant wing mirror and scattered carbon fibre debris across the pit straight? That surely should have been dealt with sooner.
Stopping under green has cost Piastri. He loses out to Leclerc and to Perez.
Verstappen and Norris immediately come in too, with Leclerc following one lap later than Piastri.
The safety car is out.
Sainz also has pitted with a front-left puncture. Piastri meanwhile has also come in. It's all happening.
Puncture for Hamilton!
With race direction having dawdled incredulously, the inevitable has now happened. Bottas has gone straight over the mirror.
It is advantage Verstappen as things stand; he's effectively doubled his advantage of five minutes ago.
Hulkenberg stops for the second time, his first having come at the end of lap one. Medium tyres to the end for the Haas driver.
By: Autosport Staff
