OSCAR PIASTRI WITH IMPORTANT POLE POSITION IN QATAR
Oscar Piastri took an important pole position for the Qatar Grand Prix, beating his McLaren teammate Lando Norris. Max Verstappen joined them on the front row, making it all three title contenders at the front.
Norris was fastest after the first Q3 laps, but after a short break to remove debris, he ran wide at Turn 2 on his final attempt and had to slow down. This gave Piastri the perfect chance, and he set a 1:19.387, beating Norris by 0.108 seconds. Norris knows that winning on Sunday would give him his first Formula 1 title.
Verstappen was just over a tenth further behind. He must finish ahead of Norris to keep his championship hopes alive going into Abu Dhabi.
Behind the front three, the top 10 included George Russell and Kimi Antonelli for Mercedes, Carlos Sainz for Williams, Fernando Alonso for Aston Martin, Pierre Gasly for Alpine, and Charles Leclerc for Ferrari.
Drivers entered Qualifying with extra knowledge from Sprint Qualifying and the Sprint Race earlier in the weekend. Before Q1 even began, the stewards noted an unsafe release for Albon into Ocon, which would be checked after the session.
Early in Q1, Piastri led with a 1:20.739, followed by Russell, Alonso and Verstappen. The Red Bull driver wasn’t happy with Sainz getting in the way on his lap and again complained about the bumpy track.
Norris started the session slowly and was seven-tenths off at first, while Leclerc and Hamilton were also in danger early on. As the track improved, Isack Hadjar and Pierre Gasly briefly went fastest, meaning everyone needed another lap to maximise the grip.
Russell finished Q1 on top with a 1:20.074, ahead of Norris and Piastri. Verstappen, Sainz, Lawson, Bearman, Leclerc, Antonelli and Alonso made up the rest of the top 10. Gasly just made it through in P15 after losing his last lap to track limits. Tsunoda missed out by a tenth.
Knocked out in Q1: Tsunoda, Ocon, Hamilton, Stroll, Colapinto.
In Q2, Piastri again went quickest early on, while Norris lost his first lap due to track limits at Turn 10 and was under pressure. Verstappen was also half a second off after doing a warm-up lap on his new tyres but later reduced the gap to 0.335s.
With fresh soft tyres, Norris safely reached Q3, only two-tenths slower than Piastri’s 1:19.650. Leclerc scraped through in P9 after battling an unstable car, and Hadjar survived in P10 by just 0.003s.
Eliminated in Q2: Hülkenberg, Lawson, Bearman, Bortoleto (who hit gravel), and Albon.
In Q3, Norris struck first. His opening lap was 0.035s faster than Piastri’s. Russell was three-tenths behind. Verstappen sat fourth after abandoning his first flying lap.
Leclerc had no time on the board after a huge high-speed spin, and the session was red-flagged because Sainz’s car accidentally dropped a floor sticker onto the track.
When the session restarted, Norris was the first of the front-runners to push, but he ran wide at Turn 2 and had to abandon his lap. Piastri then delivered a brilliant final lap of 1:19.387 to take pole by 0.108s. Verstappen finished a further tenth behind.
The final Q3 order was: Piastri, Norris, Verstappen, Russell, Antonelli, Hadjar, Sainz, Alonso, Gasly and Leclerc.
The 2025 Qatar Grand Prix will start at 19:00 local time on Sunday.
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