POWER RANKINGS: Who dazzled in the desert during a thrilling Qatar Sprint weekend?

While there may be just one race weekend left to go in 2024 that didn't stop this season's penultimate event in Qatar from being one of the most action-packed spectacles of the year. Drivers fought for every inch with vital finishing positions in the standings at stake, while this year's world champion Max Verstappen showcased his credentials once again with an expert Grand Prix win. But who else stood out for the judges in the Qatari desert? Scroll down to check out the latest Power Rankings scores.

How it works

Our five-judge panel assess each driver after every Grand Prix and score them out of 10 according to their performance across the weekend – taking machinery out of the equation
Our experts’ scores are then averaged out to produce a race score – with those scores then tallied up across the season on our overall Power Rankings Leaderboard (at the bottom of the page)

Max Verstappen started the Qatar weekend on the back foot with an ill-handling car and only P6 in Sprint Qualifying. He and Red Bull got their act together when the 100-kilometre dash was out of the way, though – making some effective set-up changes and charging to P1 in the main qualifying session. Starting second via a penalty for baulking George Russell at the end of Q3, Verstappen claimed the lead at Turn 1 and expertly defended against Lando Norris before the McLaren man’s costly penalty.

While Verstappen starred with his post-Sprint turnaround, Pierre Gasly impressed many with his three-day performance at the Lusail International Circuit. After making it into SQ3 and giving Verstappen a run for his money in the Sprint, the Alpine driver took advantage of a Safety Car to turn 11th on the grid into fifth position during the main event – adding some very valuable points to the team’s tally as they bid to secure P6 in the constructors’ standings.

Zhou Guanyu and Sauber entered the penultimate round of the season still chasing their first points – the Chinese racer lamenting over the weekend that he had been asked the question of when that might change so many times. But, via a brilliant qualifying display and gutsy race-day performance, it finally happened. Like Gasly, Zhou used the Safety Car to his advantage and came away with an emotional P8 finish.

Alongside Gasly and Zhou, Kevin Magnussen was another midfield maestro at the Qatar Grand Prix. While the Safety Car worked for the other two, the Dane was left to rue what might have been after losing precious ground. Nonetheless, he crossed the line in P9, bagged a couple more points for Haas and earned praise from F1 TV commentator Jolyon Palmer, who described him as a “tiger” thanks to his wheel-to-wheel exploits.

Charles Leclerc placed fifth in Sprint Qualifying, fifth in the Sprint and fifth in the main qualifying session at Lusail, admitting after the latter session that there was simply no more he could do given Ferrari’s raw pace. With McLaren, George Russell’s Mercedes and later Verstappen’s Red Bull holding the upper hand, the Monegasque made the most of every opportunity that came his way – including the Safety Car – to secure a P2 race result that must have felt like a win.

Russell’s weekend was another of two halves. Unlike Verstappen’s, it started better than it finished. P2 in Sprint Qualifying – when his engine getting “confused” cost him a shot at pole – and P3 in the Sprint were fine efforts to build on victory in Las Vegas the week before, and P2 on the grid for the Grand Prix – which became pole when Verstappen picked up his penalty – put him on course for another win. But then an array of issues, some on his side and some on the team’s, undid most of that hard work.

Aston Martin have fallen well short of their expectations for the 2024 season, leaving two-time world champion Fernando Alonso to battle for minor points at best on most race weekends. In Qatar, the Spaniard could be heard complaining about the “same problem” he had been experiencing for “two years” amid a lack of straight-line speed. Even so, he battled on to record a P7 finish and give the Silverstone operation a much-needed boost.

Carlos Sainz started the Qatar event ahead of team mate Leclerc – out-pacing him in Sprint Qualifying and out-racing him in the Sprint. The tables were turned from there, though, with the Spaniard struggling to make the same impact in full qualifying and starting only seventh. Matters became worse when he picked up a puncture in the race, making his eventual P6 finishing position solid damage limitation.

Oscar Piastri trailed the lead McLaren of Norris for most of the Sprint at Lusail but then, in a surprise twist, got handed the win as payback for playing the team game in Brazil. That would be the high point of the weekend for the Australian, who qualified fourth for the Grand Prix and dropped to fifth – behind Leclerc – on the opening lap. Having managed to recover the spot from Leclerc, Piastri fell back behind under the Safety Car and made do with the final podium spot.

On another day, Valtteri Bottas could have joined Zhou in the points and made it a double score for Kick Sauber. After some encouraging early-weekend pace, contact with RB’s Liam Lawson on race day forced him wide and damaged his car’s floor – allowing Zhou to slip ahead and giving his team mate the strategic advantage. In Bottas’ own words, the timing of the Safety Car “couldn’t have been worse” and agonisingly left him P11 at the flag.

Missing out

Lando Norris just missed out on the top half of the Power Rankings field for Qatar after a 10-second stop/go penalty for failing to slow under double waved yellow flags dashed his victory hopes and consigned him to a P10 finish – costing McLaren some points in their constructors’ push.

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POWER RANKINGS: Who dazzled in the desert during a thrilling Qatar Sprint weekend?

How it works

Missing out

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