DOHA, Qatar — Oscar Piastri said “it’s nice to be back” after taking his first pole position of any kind since late August for Saturday’s sprint race at the Qatar Grand Prix, as championship leader Lando Norris qualified third and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen settled for sixth.
Piastri picked a vital time to do it, going 0.032 seconds quicker than Mercedes driver George Russell with his final lap to snatch the front spot of the grid.
Crucially, teammate and title rival Norris — who leads Piastri and Verstappen by 24 points — ran wide at the final corner, meaning he had to settle for third behind Russell.
There is only a maximum of eight points available in Saturday’s sprint race and one point between each position, meaning Piastri’s chances of a huge points swing might be limited, but it represented a long overdue return to some kind of form.
Piastri had looked the likely driver to win the title when he won the Dutch Grand Prix from pole in late August, opening up a 34-point lead over Norris in the process, but he has only had one podium finish since.
Oscar Piastri took sprint pole ahead of George Russell. Mark Sutton – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images
Red Bull driver Verstappen had come into the weekend looking to continue his unlikely title bid, having moved closer in the standings after McLaren’s double DQ in Las Vegas.
However, he appeared unhappy with the set-up of his car and went off the circuit in SQ3 at a crucial moment.
“This f—ing car man, it’s bouncing like an idiot,” Verstappen complained. As qualifying ended, Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies told the reigning champion over the radio: “We have some work to do but the weekend is long, mate.”
Verstappen finished the session sixth, although it is unlikely he will face any resistance from teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who surprisingly qualified ahead of him in fifth. Ahead of Tsunoda will be Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, the undoubted star performer of the session.
Behind Verstappen, Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli starts in seventh.
Williams drivers Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon qualified either side of the ninth-placed Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.
The opening qualifying session, SQ1, had shown a moment which hinted at the tension between the two title-chasing teams, with stewards briefly looking at whether Verstappen had impeded a Norris lap at Turn 16.
“Verstappen just didn’t get out of my way,” Norris reported. “He just cost me my lap”
McLaren were not impressed, with race engineer Will Joseph telling Norris: “Every other lap, he’s just pulled over immediately after he’s completed his lap. That time he decided to stay out and screw you over. Yeah, we saw it mate.”
“Yeah, it’s just obvious,” Norris replied.
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The stewards did not look at the incident for long before deciding there would be no further investigation.
Away from the title fight there was limited drama, although Lewis Hamilton’s miserable Ferrari debut year continued with an elimination in SQ1.
“Ah man, the car won’t go any quicker,” said the seven-time world champion over the radio.
Hamilton has already labelled the 2025 season the worst of his storied career.
The 40-year-old’s mood had improved little when he reached the media pen for his television interviews.
Asked if the car was tricky to drive, Hamilton replied: “Same as always.” He was then asked if there were any positives he could take into tomorrow. “The weather’s nice,” he said.
