Max Verstappen struggled his way to sixth on the grid for the Qatar Grand Prix Sprint race, being out-qualified by his team-mate for the first time all season.
Yuki Tsunoda will be fifth, but Verstappen's big off during the first runs of SQ3 at Turn 4 proved fatal for his chances of improving further up the grid and challenging title rivals Oscar Piastri on pole and Lando Norris in third.
READ MORE: Max Verstappen damage analysed after rare Red Bull mistake
Aston Martin clarify Christian Horner decision after F1 links
Aston Martin is not going to offer Christian Horner a position within the team, ending speculation that the axed Red Bull boss could take on a role at the Silverstone-based squad.
Red Bull parted ways with Horner earlier this season, closing the curtain on a 20-year stint as its team principal.
READ MORE: Aston Martin clarify Christian Horner decision after F1 links
2025 F1 Qatar Grand Prix - Sprint results
Oscar Piastri scored his first victory since triumphing in the Dutch Grand Prix at the end of August by taking an easy victory in the Qatar sprint.
Piastri finished 4.9s ahead of Mercedes' George, with the Australian's McLaren team-mate Lando Norris third ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen in fourth, after the four-time F1 champion made up two places on the opening lap.
2025 F1 Qatar Grand Prix - Qualifying results
Oscar Piastri snatched pole position for the Qatar Grand Prix, besting Lando Norris by a tenth of a second during the penultimate qualifying session of the 2025 F1 season.
The British driver looked to have found the measure of his McLaren team-mate, but aborted his final push lap after going wide at Turn 2, opening the door to Piastri.
Red Bull pinpoint Max Verstappen 'problem' after rare failure
Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko has highlighted the "problem" the RB21 has with the soft tyre at the Qatar Grand Prix, which was worse on Max Verstappen's side of the garage during sprint qualifying.
The Dutchman could only go sixth-fastest in the grid-setting session for the one-third distance race at the Lusail International Circuit, and will line up alongside Yuki Tsunoda, who was nine-thousandths of a second quicker.
READ MORE: Red Bull pinpoint Max Verstappen 'problem' after rare failure
Yuki Tsunoda identifies reason behind handing Max Verstappen first F1 defeat
Yuki Tsunoda believes his clean execution of the Qatar Grand Prix weekend thus far was a key factor behind handing Max Verstappen his first defeat of the season.
For the first time as team-mates, Tsunoda out-qualified Verstappen, doing so in sprint qualifying by securing fifth on the grid to Verstappen's sixth.
READ MORE: Yuki Tsunoda identifies reason behind handing Max Verstappen first F1 defeat
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