Oscar Piastri took pole position for Formula 1‘s Qatar Grand Prix, heading a McLaren 1-2 in qualifying for a race that could help decide the Drivers’ title.
The Australian followed on from his Sprint pole and win at the Losail International Circuit to take top spot ahead of Norris, who oversteered heavily in his final lap, forcing him to abort.
Max Verstappen overcame some of Red Bull’s earlier problems with extreme bouncing to take third, ensuring the three title protagonists will cover the first three spots on the grid..
Q1 began with Fernando Alonso picking up where he left off in Sprint Qualifying, by setting the fastest time early on with a 1:20.980s, which was eventually bettered by both Russell and Piastri.
With nine minutes to go, both Ferraris were in danger of early elimination, with Lewis Hamilton 19th and Charles Leclerc 16th. The Monegasque did improve a lot on his second push lap, moving up to fifth.
Isack Hadjar went fastest with a 1:20.603s, a tenth up on Piastri’s fastest time. Hamilton moved up to sixth, with the common theme of track limit exceeding continuing, Esteban Ocon the third to have a lap time deleted after Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Franco Colapinto.
Norris went fastest but also saw a lap time deleted, as Leclerc was now one place above the danger zone with more fast laps being completed.
Pierre Gasly was up into eighth, with Yuki Tsunoda now in danger. Leclerc moved back into fifth.
Verstappen couldn’t better fourth, still oversteering during his navigation of the track, the Red Bull still seemingly unable to find a good balance after its troubles in Sprint qualifying.
Hamilton was now back in the bottom five, as Gasly improved and went fifth. Russell went quickest at the chequered flag, eight hundredths ahead of Norris.
For Hamilton, it was another miserable session to add to his growing collection in 2025, and was joined by Colapinto, Lance Stroll, Ocon and Tsunoda, a contrast from the day before.
“I don’t have pace!” the Japanese bemoaned over radio, an incredulous result given his fifth place in the Sprint a few hours prior.
Norris leaves it late to make Q3
Q2 got underway after a short delay to clear errant gravel, as Bearman set the early marker with a 1:20.438s, three tenths quicker than Leclerc.
Verstappen bettered it by two tenths, with Piastri going faster still by half a second. Norris was close, but saw him lap time deleted.
Leclerc was 10th after two push laps, and then pushed down to 11th with Gasly still impressive. With three minutes to go, Norris and Leclerc were rooted to the bottom.
Norris moved up to second with a minute to go, two tenths off Piastri, with Verstappen a tenth behind.
Russell, appearing safe in fourth, requested a new visor due to the increasing amount of dust being kicked up by cars going wide.
Leclerc was still bottom, with Antonelli 11th. Alongo went fifth, with Gasly going seventh. Antonelli moved up to fourth, as Leclerc went ninth.
Nico Hulkenberg, Liam Lawson, Bearman, Gabriel Bortoleto and Alex Albon were the casualties of Q2, with all signs pointing to a McLaren battle royale for pole.
Norris went fastest early on in Q3 with a 1:19.495s. Piastri was three hundredths down, with Verstappen a distance four tenths away.
He was soon bumped into fourth by Russell, with Antonelli going sixth.
Leclerc survived a major spin, as Sainz was compromised by garage floor stickers being stuck on his tyres. It immediately placed Williams under investigation for an unsafe condition upon release, and the discarded plastic, now shed onto the racetrack, brought out the red flag.
With action resuming and time running out, it appeared as if there were only two cars in it.
Piastri was on a flyer, going purple in Sectors 1 and 2, with Norris abandoning his final lap. Piastri kept it clean and took pole by a tenth of a second.
Verstappen was able to better his own time but was still a further tenth adrift. Russell could not better fourth. Antoinelli took fifth, with Hadjar sixth.
Sainz and Alonso took seventh and eighth respectively, with Gasly outqualifying Leclerc in ninth.
With Piastri hitting a purple patch just at the right time, the championship began to feel even more on a knife-edge.
READ MORE – F1 2025 Qatar Grand Prix – Qualifying Results
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