Red Bull star ruled OUT of race at Qatar Grand Prix

Photo: © IMAGO

Qatar Grand Prix

Red Bull star ruled OUT of race at Qatar Grand Prix

A Red Bull star had a disastrous outing in Qatar

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Saturday 30 November 2024 22:56 Updated: 23:29

A Red Bull star has been ruled out of the sprint race at the Qatar Grand Prix following a dramatic failure.

Max Verstappen clinched the drivers’ title last weekend in Las Vegas, turning the attention turned towards the constructors’ battle between Ferrari and McLaren at Lusail.

F1 HEADLINES: Verstappen to be replaced by Red Bull as driver change announced at Qatar Grand Prix

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It was McLaren who gained the upper-hand initially in Qatar, with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris leading a 1-2 in Saturday's sprint race.

Not only is there a chance of the constructors' championship being settled in Qatar, but also the 2024 F1 Academy and Formula 2 titles.

Will McLaren or Ferrari come out on top in Qatar?

The 2024 F2 season will come to a close in Qatar

Red Bull star fails to finish F2 race at Qatar GP

The F2 championship will be a tight battle between Gabriel Bortoleto and Isack Hadjar at the top of the standings, with the latter holding the advantage during Saturday’s sprint race.

However, Hadjar lost the lead to Ollie Bearman during the closing stages of the race, where a spin dropped him down to fourth.

The gap between Bortoleto and Hadjar has been reduced to 2.5 points heading into Sunday’s feature race, after Bortoleto only managed a sixth place finish.

Hadjar’s fellow Red Bull junior star, Oliver Goethe, also endured a nightmare sprint race in Qatar, where the German did not finish the race and was out on lap six.

Oliver Goethe did not finish the sprint race in Qatar

Goethe was seen with smoke emerging from his MP Motorsport car, as he came to a standstill in the gravel with the incident prompting a virtual safety car.

The 20-year-old was promoted from F3 to F2 for the Italian GP, where he replaced Franco Colapinto who was promoted to Williams in F1 following the axing of Logan Sargeant.