Carlos Sainz was due to start the Qatar Grand Prix from 12th position on the grid after a disappointing qualifying session on Friday in which he missed the cut to Q3 by 0.031s. However, just an hour before the race, Ferrari announced that Sainz would not make the start at all due to a fuel system issue on his car. Ferraris mechanics tried to fix the issue, but ultimately found that it could not be remedied in time for the race.