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

Valtteri Bottas topped Friday practice for Mercedes at the Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix. Here’s how and when to watch qualifying.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF21, leads Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri AT02

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF21, leads Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri AT02

Charles Coates / Motorsport Images

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

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

Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri AT02

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Qatar Grand Prix FP2 results

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

Qatar Grand Prix FP1 results

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

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