Oscar Piastri took the crucial pole position for the Qatar Sprint and moved into the top spot ahead of George Russell and McLaren teammate Lando Norris.
In Friday’s SQ3 the Australian set the pace when it mattered most, sitting on top of the times after both of his flying laps, with his final benchmark of 1m 20.055s leaving him just 0.032s behind Mercedes’ Russell.
Norris, who holds a 24-point lead over Piastri and Max Verstappen ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix meaning he can claim a Formula 1 title for the first time this weekend, finished two-tenths behind after running into the last corner on his final attempt.
Fernando Alonso took an impressive P4 for Aston Martin, while Yuki Tsunoda edged out Red Bull teammate Verstappen, with the Dutchman battling back to bounce back and finish P6.
The top-10 was completed by Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), Carlos Sainz (Williams), Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) and the second Williams of Alex Albon.
Isak Hadjar failed to advance in SQ3 after losing his final lap time due to track limits at Turn 8, with the Racing Bulls driver classified P11 ahead of Ollie Bearman (Haas) and Gabriele Bortoletto (Kick Sauber).
Nico Hülkenberg’s second Sauber also lost its final lap time due to track limitations and finished P14, ahead of the second Haas of Esteban Ocon.
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was the first driver to miss the cut from Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) and Lewis Hamilton in SQ1, with the Ferrari driver once again missing out in the early stages of qualifying as the Alpines of Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto completed the order for Saturday’s 19-lap sprint.
as it happened
SQ1 – Verstappen fastest as Hamilton drops out again
With only a one-hour free practice session and no teams using medium tyres, drivers mandated yellow wall tires for the initial 12-minute segment during SQ1.
Verstappen and Red Bull made their intentions clear from the start, with the Dutchman being the first to take to the track, but after the opening laps he fell behind title rivals Norris and Piastri, with the Drivers’ Championship leader topping the leaderboard with a time of 1m21.621s.
With track development at the Lusail International Circuit, times continued to drop and Verstappen, Norris and Piastri traded fastest laps before Alonso topped the leaderboard.
Verstappen ultimately finished fastest with a time of 1 m 21.172 s, leaving him one tenth ahead of the Aston Martin driver as Piastri, Hulkenberg, Norris and Hadjar completed the top six.
In the drop zone, Stroll was the first driver to miss the cut by less than one-tenth as he led Lawson and Hamilton, with the Ferrari driver about three-tenths off the next stage and claiming over the radio, “The car won’t go any faster”, with teammate Leclerc only P13.
The seven-time world champion only led both Alpines from Gasly and Colapinto, with an incident between Verstappen and Norris at Turn 1 and Turn 16 that was noted by the stewards, before no further action was taken for each.
Knocked Out: Stroll, Lawson, Hamilton, Gasly, Colapinto
SQ2 – Norris and Piastri set the pace as track limits cost Hadjar
Norris, Piastri and Verstappen resumed their battle at the top of the times in Q2, with Norris making the first decisive blow with a 1m 20.956s on the medium Pirelli rubber.
This left him just 0.049 seconds ahead of his teammate and just 0.080 seconds ahead of Verstappen after the Dutchman’s second attempt, with the time proving good enough for P1 despite Norris running wide at Turn 2 on the final lap.
Verstappen was left in P3 complaining over the radio about being bounced aboard his Red Bull, the order being completed by Russell, Tsunoda, Sainz, Leclerc, Albon and Alonso.
Antonelli was temporarily dropped, but the removal of track limit time for Hadjar at Turn 8 meant the Frenchman lost his best lap and finished P11, where he was joined by Bearman, Bortoletto and Hülkenberg, who also lost their best lap for track limits, as Ocon finished P15.
Knocked Out: Hadjar, Bearman, Bortoletto, Hulkenberg, Ocon
SQ3 – Piastri puts pressure on Norris as Verstappen struggles
With drivers required to use softer tires for a period of time in sprint qualifying, McLaren seemed to have made a remarkable leap over the other teams, as Piastri trailed Norris by 0.044s after the pair’s first flying laps.
Despite challenging his title rivals in the other two segments, Verstappen spun at his first attempt at Turn 4 and complained to his team over the radio about the pitting again.
With no representative time on the board, the four-time world champion had only one final effort to move up the order, which was enough for sixth place on the grid, directly behind teammate Tsunoda and the impressive Alonso.
Piastri improved on his second attempt, posting 1 m 20.055 s which was only fractionally faster than Russell, while Norris had to settle for third after running wide at the final corner and failing to improve.
At the back of the top six, Antonelli led Sainz, Leclerc and Albon, both Williams drivers on SQ3 at a track where they were expected to struggle.
key quote
“It’s been a nice day, which is nice for a change,” Piastri said. “It’s been a day where things went well from the start and I think the sprint qualifying session went really well. I had a huge moment on my lap but in the end it was enough so thanks to the team – it’s a great car and it’s looking really good so far this weekend. I’m very happy with it.
what will happen next
With the grid decided, drivers will line up for the sprint at 1700 local time on Saturday. Visit the Race Hub to find out how you can catch the action.
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