Oscar Piastri took victory in the Sprint Race for the Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix, to keep his title aspirations alive ahead of qualifying for the full race.
The Australian got away well at the start at the Losail International Circuit and held his lead in what was, in truth, a bland and action-less race, with George Russell maintaining second.
Lando Norris resisted early pressure from Max Verstappen, who finished fourth amid continuing issues with his Red Bull.
At the start, Piastri got away cleanly with Russell following in behind. Norris was forced to cover off Verstappen who had already gotten ahead of Yuki Tsunoda and Fernando Alonso, the Brit almost banging wheels with Russell on the approach to the first corner.
By the end of Lap 1, Piastri led by 1.4s from Russell, with Norris half a second ahead of Verstappen, with Charles Leclerc the biggest loser, dropping from ninth place to 13th.
Verstappen got a good run at Norris going into Turn 1, but the McLaren once again had enough to shield the Dutchman’s attempt, with Tsunoda dropping back by a second.
Into Lap 4, and this time Norris had created enough of a buffer to quell any attempt from Verstappen, with Piastri still maintaining a 1.2 lead over Russell.
Norris was averaging seven-tenths ahead of Verstappen, as Lewis Hamilton held 18th place ahead of the Alpines but behind Lance Stroll, the foursome all having started from the pit lane.
Russell’s fears about the shortness of the DRS zone on the start-finish straight were more or less confirmed, with Verstappen appearing unable to get a good run at Norris to mount a challenge.
The Red Bull, according to Verstappen, was continuing bounce as it had in qualifying, and by Lap 7 had slipped back to over a second behind Norris.
Verstappen said “I’m constantly jumping, not just bouncing” as his RB21 continued to give him strife as the gap to Norris was, by Lap 9, almost two whole seconds.
Sainz was holding eighth place but suffered a bizarre moment on Lap 8, when a part of his Williams bodywork shed itself.
Piastri was 1.8s ahead of Russell into Lap 10, the race now just beyond halfway distance.
Leclerc and Lawson do battle as Tsunoda handed penalty
Leclerc was also suffering from the DRS zone’s lack of length, unsuccessfully attempting to overtake Oliver Bearman into Turn 1.
The Monegasque then went wide a lap later, dropping him into the clutches of Liam Lawson, who was forced off the road by the Ferrari.
Liam Lawson managed to get by but was quick to hand the place back, having taken it off the track.
Track limits were also a problem for Tsunoda, who was given a black and white flag for exceeding them.
Alonso lost sixth to Antonelli at Turn 1, the Aston Martin having gone wide at the final corner and kicking up sand and gravel in the process.
Tsunoda, looking good for his best result for Red Bull, pushed his luck, and the limits, too far, earning himself a five-second time penalty for continuous breach.
With five laps to go, Piastri continued to lead, stretching his gap to 2.2s from Russell, with Norris comfortable in third, over three and a half seconds ahead of Verstappen in fourth.
Antonelli was next to be shown the warning flag for track limits, as Norris was warned to keep it on the island with oversteer becoming a problem for the field.
Piastri took victory by five seconds from Russell, with Norris third and Verstappen fourth. Antonelli took fifth, with Tsunoda dropping one place for his misdemeanour, but shortly afterwards, the Italian was also given a five-second penalty, rendering the status quo, giving Tsunoda back his fifth place.
Alonso and Sainz were seventh and eighth respectively, rounding up the points-scoring places.
For Piastri, it would be a minor dent made into Norris’ lead, but with qualifying just hours away, a significant confidence boost, as he moved ahead of Verstappen and closer to his team-mate.
READ MORE – F1 2025 Qatar Grand Prix – Sprint Race Results
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