Oscar Piastri delivered under pressure in Lusail, taking a decisive Sprint pole in Qatar with a 1:20.055. Piastri grabs Qatar Sprint pole after nailing both of his SQ3 laps, edging George Russell by only 0.032s and finishing ahead of team mate Lando Norris, who ended the session in third after running wide at the final corner.
Norris still carries a 24 point lead into the weekend and can mathematically seal the title on Sunday, but today belonged to Piastri. The Australian looked sharp from the first timed laps of the evening, consistently in the window while others, including Verstappen, fought through bouncing, balance issues and inconsistent tyre warm up.
Mercedes on the attack, Verstappen off the pace
Russell came into SQ3 as a genuine threat and delivered one of his strongest sessions of the season, pushing McLaren all the way. Verstappen, meanwhile, was never comfortable. Bouncing, steering complaints and multiple messy laps left him P6, behind Yuki Tsunoda, who outqualified his Red Bull team mate.
Fernando Alonso added another standout performance for Aston Martin in P4, with Antonelli seventh, followed by Sainz, Leclerc and Albon completing the top ten.
Key moments from SQ2 and SQ1
Isack Hadjar looked fast enough for a top-eight fight but lost his final lap to track limits, dropping him out in P11. Hulkenberg, Bearman, Bortoleto and Ocon joined him in elimination.
SQ1 saw an early shock as Lance Stroll, Liam Lawson and Lewis Hamilton all fell at the first hurdle, with the Ferrari once again struggling to find grip, rhythm and confidence. Gasly and Colapinto completed the bottom five.
Why this pole matters
Piastri needed this. The confidence boost. The clean session. The momentum swing.
If he converts Sprint pole into a win and carries that form into Grand Prix qualifying, the title fight tightens again. For Norris, P3 is workable but puts pressure on his start. For Verstappen, this is a warning sign heading into a weekend where the margin for error is tiny.
The fight continues tomorrow
Saturday’s 19-lap Sprint could reshape the championship maths in real time. If the top three finish where they start, it’s only a two point swing back to Piastri, but racing rarely plays out that cleanly in Qatar.
A big day is coming. And tonight showed Piastri is ready to take it on.
