Q3 at the Qatar Grand Prix was briefly halted after a sudden red flag was called, leaving fans confused as the fight for pole was heating up between Norris, Piastri, Russell, and Verstappen.
The stoppage occurred due to a piece of debris that flew off Carlos Sainz’s car. Sainz, who had made it into the top 10 shootout, ran over a plastic component that became lodged near his tyre. This caused the car to momentarily drift as the debris loosened and fell onto the racing line.
Race Control immediately spotted the plastic part lying on the circuit — a potential hazard for cars running at over 300 km/h — and triggered a red flag to safely remove it.
Before the interruption:
-
Norris was on provisional pole with a 1:19.495
-
Piastri sat just 0.035s behind
-
Verstappen had moved up to P3
-
Russell had briefly pushed Verstappen down before Max reclaimed third
Once the track was cleared, Q3 resumed with drivers preparing for their final pole attempts.