REPORT: A mixed Sprint Quali in Qatar

The grid has been set for the final F1 Sprint race of the 2024 season, with Williams Racing to push forward after a mixed Friday in Lusail.

After each recording 29 laps in the only Practice session of the weekend, both Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto made a step forward in Sprint Qualifying.

Our pair improved across their three push laps in SQ1, with Alex doing just enough to make it through in P15, whilst Franco’s evening was complete with his best time of 1:23.423 placing him in P20.

In SQ2, Alex put in two competitive laps but missed out on the top 10 shootout in another hugely competitive session, with his 1:22.526 placing him P12 on the grid.

"Firstly, it’s been a lot of fun out there today," Alex shared. "It’s a really nice track and very quick.

"We’re maybe a bit disappointed with the Sprint Qualifying result.

"We struggled in Free Practice with not quite getting the tyres in the right place and had the same issue in Sprint Quali, but I think most teams are struggling to find that magic window.

"I think we’ll be okay tomorrow. Our long run pace was really strong, so I’m optimistic."

Franco continued our reaction from the paddock by commenting: "It was a tough day as from Free Practice we were struggling with the car.

"We didn’t really find the right direction to go in. I was losing time little by little through a lap in most corners which is always the most frustrating part because there are no big chunks of lap time lost in one place.

"The high-speed felt ok but when coming to medium and slower speed corners I was really struggling with the front end and balance.

"We tried to fix the issues with some setup changes after Free Practice, but it didn’t work as well as we wanted.

"However, with all the data we’ve gained from today and in tomorrow’s Sprint Race, I’m hoping we might be able to do something more interesting tomorrow in the main Qualifying session."

Sven Smeets, Sporting Director, was keeping a close eye on proceedings from the pit wall, rounding up our Friday by saying: "Having only one Free Practice before you start Qualifying always brings some challenges.

"We were struggling a bit to get the tyres in the right window in FP.

"Sprint Qualifying this evening was tricky and unfortunately Franco didn’t make it into SQ2.

"He can use the race tomorrow to find a better balance as he is struggling in the low and medium speed corners.

"Alex just made it into SQ2 and finished at the end in P12.

"Our race runs looked competitive this morning, so we are looking forward to the Sprint Race tomorrow and we will work hard overnight to try and find a better tyre prep for Qualifying tomorrow night."