F1 Qatar Grand Prix 2025: Sprint Qualifying Results And Report As Oscar Piastri Takes Crucial Step In Title Mission

Oscar Piastri rediscovered form to take pole for the Qatar Grand Prix sprint and ensured he holds the upper hand over McLaren teammate Lando Norris and Red Bull's Max Verstappen going into leg one of three in the battle for the Formula 1 drivers' title.

Norris leads his two rivals by 24 points heading into the final two race weekends of the season and only needs to outscore the duo by two points at the Lusail International Circuit, but Piastri put himself in position to cut the lead on Saturday.

The Australian set a benchmark time of 1:20.055s to finish just 0.032s faster than Mercedes' George Russell, with Norris third and Verstappen only sixth.

Eight points are available for the victory in Saturday's sprint, with Piastri set to take two points away from Norris if places remain stagnant in the shortened event.

F1 Qatar Grand Prix 2025: SQ3 results

OSCAR PIASTRI TAKES #F1SPRINT POLE IN QATAR!! 💪#F1 #QatarGP pic.twitter.com/Y3kHwNsJdW
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 28, 2025

The first flying lap of the final session saw the McLarens underline their dominance, with Piastri ahead of Norris as had been the case on the soft tires in FP1.

But Verstappen was left furious after a trip across the gravel on his initial attempt, leaving him fighting for a competitive lap.

When the final laps came, Norris was compromised by Alex Albon in the Williams and was unable to improve.

Russell did momentarily hold pole position, only for Piastri to take the position at the death, securing his first pole in any format since the Dutch Grand Prix.

Norris was third ahead of Fernando Alonso, who excelled for Aston Martin though was four-tenths off Piastri.

Yuki Tsunoda put together a seldom-seen strong effort to outpace Red Bull teammate Verstappen as his F1 future hangs in the balance, with Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli seventh.

It was the first time since Azerbaijan 2024 that Verstappen had been slower than a teammate in any qualifying format.

Carlos Sainz was eighth for Williams, ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc - on a difficult day for the Scuderia - and Albon 10th.

Position / Driver / Team	Gap [s]
1. Oscar Piastri / McLaren	1:20.055
2. George Russell / Mercedes	+0.032
3. Lando Norris / McLaren	+0.230
4. Fernando Alonso / Aston Martin	+0.395
5. Yuki Tsunoda / Red Bull	+0.464
6. Max Verstappen / Red Bull	+0.473
7. Kimi Antonelli / Mercedes	+0.477
8. Carlos Sainz / Williams	+0.487
9. Charles Leclerc / Ferrari	+0.567
10. Alex Albon / Williams	+0.733

F1 Qatar Grand Prix 2025: SQ2 results

Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls — Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

Isack Hadjar's sprint qualifying came to a premature end as he saw his best laptime deleted for a track limits infringement.

The Racing Bulls driver has squeaked through with his best effort, but with that taken away after the chequered flag, Antonelli was given a reprieve and ended up knocking Hadjar out by 0.057s.

Oliver Bearman was the lead Haas in 12th, separated from his teammate Esteban Ocon by Sauber duo Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg.

Hulkenberg had shown pace but failed to make it three SQ3 appearances in a row after running wide into the gravel at the final corner of his last flying lap.

Position / Driver / Team	Gap to SQ3 [s]
11. Isack Hadjar / Racing Bulls	+0.057
12. Oliver Bearman / Haas	+0.118
13. Gabriel Bortoleto / Sauber	+0.191
14. Nico Hulkenberg / Sauber	+0.255
15. Esteban Ocon / Haas	+0.290

MORE: Max Verstappen Shares Stunning F1 Retirement Threat

F1 Qatar Grand Prix 2025: SQ1 results

SQ1 comes to an end, and unfortunately we’ve lost @LewisHamilton in P18 @Charles_Leclerc makes it through in P13 pic.twitter.com/tzqBn1wG7D
— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) November 28, 2025

Lewis Hamilton's miserable run at Ferrari continued as he fell out of sprint qualifying at the first hurdle.

The seven-time champion was four-tenths off teammate Leclerc, who got through in only 13th, to take just 18th on the grid having switched to a higher-downforce rear wing after a tough FP1.

Lance Stroll will line up 16th after a disappointing lap, given teammate Alonso was second in the opening segment, the Canadian just 0.034s off Ocon's time to get through.

Liam Lawson was also within a tenth of getting through for Racing Bulls and will line up ahead of Hamilton on the ninth row of the grid, with Alpine duo Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto rounding out the grid.

Position / Driver / Team	Gap to SQ2 [s]
16. Lance Stroll / Aston Martin	+0.034
17. Liam Lawson / Racing Bulls	+0.078
18. Lewis Hamilton / Ferrari	+0.270
19. Pierre Gasly / Alpine	+0.339
20. Franco Colapinto / Alpine	+0.591

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