F1 Qatar GP qualifying: Start time, how to watch & more

On a busy opening day of track action at the Losail International Circuit, Bottas set the fastest lap of the day in FP2 of 1m23.148s to claim top spot ahead of AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly who went second fastest in both practice sessions. 

Max Verstappen ended FP1 with the quickest time, with the Red Bull driver and F1 world championship leader shuffled down to third place in the second session, but he kept ahead of title rival Lewis Hamilton in fourth.

Arguably the biggest news from Friday in Qatar was the FIA stewards’ decision to deny Mercedes the right to review the Brazilian GP incident between Verstappen and Hamilton.

The impending FIA ruling dominated the pre-event focus after Mercedes lodged an appeal to review the incident from last weekend, with the crux of the rejection due to the new footage not being sufficiently significant to launch a full investigation. 

The issue became the central point of tension between the two F1 world title-fighting teams Red Bull and Mercedes, with Christian Horner revealing the Milton Keynes-based squad is ready to protest Mercedes’ rear wing over suspicions on its legality.

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL35M

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

What time does qualifying start for the Qatar Grand Prix?

Qualifying for the Qatar GP starts at 5pm local time (2pm GMT), using the regular Q1, Q2 and Q3 knockout session format.

Date: Saturday 20th November 2021
Start time: 5pm local time - 2pm GMT

How can I watch Qatar GP qualifying?

In the United Kingdom every F1 practice, qualifying and race is broadcast live on Sky Sports F1, with Qatar GP qualifying coverage starting at 1pm GMT. Qualifying is also being shown on Sky Sports Main Event starting at 2pm.

Channel: Sky Sports F1
Start time: 1:00pm GMT

Autosport will be running a live text coverage of qualifying here.

When can I watch the highlights of Qatar GP qualifying?

In the United Kingdom Channel 4 is broadcasting highlights of qualifying for the Qatar GP at 5:30pm GMT on Saturday. The full programme will run for 90 minutes, covering both qualifying and wrapping up the major talking points of the race weekend so far.

For the entire 2021 F1 season, Channel 4 will broadcast highlights of every qualifying and race of each event. The highlights will also be available on Channel 4’s on demand catch up services.

Channel: Channel 4
Start time: 5:30pm GMT

Will Qatar GP qualifying be on the radio?

Live radio coverage of every practice, qualifying and race for the 2021 F1 season will be available on the BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC 5 Live Sports Extra or via the BBC Sport website.

Coverage of Qatar GP qualifying will start at 1:55pm GMT on BBC 5 Live Sports Extra and the BBC Sounds app.

What's the weather forecast for qualifying at the Losail International Circuit?

Dry and warm weather is forecast for Saturday afternoon for the start of qualifying at the Losail International Circuit just outside Doha in Qatar. The temperature is set to be 27 degrees Celsius at the start of qualifying.

Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri AT02

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Qatar Grand Prix FP2 results

Cla	Driver	Chassis	Laps	Time	Gap
1	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	27	1'23.148
2	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	27	1'23.357	0.209
3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	20	1'23.498	0.350
4	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	25	1'23.570	0.422
5	Lando Norris	McLaren	24	1'23.632	0.484
6	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	26	1'23.705	0.557
7	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri	28	1'23.735	0.587
8	Sergio Perez	Red Bull	20	1'23.787	0.639
9	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin	27	1'24.020	0.872
10	Carlos Sainz Jr	Ferrari	28	1'24.033	0.885
11	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	29	1'24.041	0.893
12	Fernando Alonso	Alpine	25	1'24.056	0.908
13	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	23	1'24.095	0.947
14	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren	24	1'24.135	0.987
15	Kimi Raikkonen	Alfa Romeo	26	1'24.631	1.483
16	George Russell	Williams	27	1'24.954	1.806
17	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo	23	1'25.072	1.924
18	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	28	1'25.209	2.061
19	Mick Schumacher	Haas	27	1'25.575	2.427
20	Nikita Mazepin	Haas	0
View full results

Qatar Grand Prix FP1 results

Cla	Driver	Chassis	Laps	Time	Gap
1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	22	1'23.723
2	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	28	1'24.160	0.437
3	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	24	1'24.194	0.471
4	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	21	1'24.509	0.786
5	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri	27	1'24.648	0.925
6	Carlos Sainz Jr	Ferrari	26	1'24.713	0.990
7	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	27	1'24.790	1.067
8	Sergio Perez	Red Bull	22	1'24.915	1.192
9	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	23	1'24.972	1.249
10	Lando Norris	McLaren	19	1'25.215	1.492
11	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren	24	1'25.291	1.568
12	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin	19	1'25.328	1.605
13	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	24	1'25.688	1.965
14	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo	23	1'25.757	2.034
15	Kimi Raikkonen	Alfa Romeo	25	1'25.828	2.105
16	George Russell	Williams	24	1'25.871	2.148
17	Fernando Alonso	Alpine	21	1'25.905	2.182
18	Mick Schumacher	Haas	21	1'26.699	2.976
19	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	11	1'26.712	2.989
20	Nikita Mazepin	Haas	16	1'27.500	3.777
View full results