Oscar Piastri cruises to Qatar Sprint victory as Max Verstappen 'bouncing' complaints continue

Oscar Piastri converted Sprint pole into Sprint victory in Qatar, to reduce his deficit to Lando Norris in the F1 drivers' title. 

The Australian cruised to the win in the final sprint race of the season, with George Russell and Lando Norris having finished in second and third. 

As a result, Norris' lead in the championship has reduced to 22 points, meaning he must out score Piastri by three points in the Qatar Grand Prix to secure the world title. 

Max Verstappen recovered from sixth to fourth but has fallen to 25 points adrift of Norris, following a sprint full of further complaints about his Red Bull bouncing.

Piastri perfect; Verstappen's bouncing struggles continue

As the sun set at the Lusail International Circuit ahead of the final sprint race of 2025, the grid looked unusually empty. Lewis Hamilton, Lance Stroll, Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto all started from the pit lane, following changes to their cars during parc fermé. 

It was Piastri on sprint pole, his first pole across any format since the Dutch GP, with Russell alongside him. Championship leader Norris started in third, ahead of Verstappen in sixth. 

The entire field opted for used medium tyres, with Pirelli having warned of potential tyre cuts due to the gravel and kerbs. 

As the lights went out to start the 19-lap sprint, the top three remained as they were, although Verstappen was the big mover from sixth into fourth.  

It was a perfect opening lap for Piastri, who already led Russell by over one-second as they crossed the start/finish line for the first time.

Norris could not say the same in third, as the Briton had Verstappen in DRS range behind. The biggest loser in the opening laps was Charles Leclerc, who fell to 13th. 

With Piastri cruising in front, all eyes were on Norris and Verstappen, who started to catch Russell for second. 

Verstappen had a brief look down the inside of Norris into the first corner; however, by the eighth lap, Norris was one-second adrift of Russell, whilst Verstappen was one-second adrift of him.

Unfortunately, the Dutchman's bouncing struggles continued, resulting in a radio message to Red Bull, which said: "I'm constantly jumping, not only bouncing."

The top four remained unchanged for the rest of the sprint, although there were other moves in the point-scoring positions. 

Kimi Antonelli capitalised on Fernando Alonso running off the circuit at the final corner as the 13th lap concluded, promoting the Italian into sixth. 

Sixth initially became fifth at the end of the race for Antonelli, as Tsunoda received a five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits on too many occasions. However, Antonelli also then received a five-second time penalty, dropping him back into sixth post-race.

As a result, the top eight finished as: Piastri, Russell, Norris, Verstappen, Tsunoda, Antonelli, Alonso, Sainz.

Thankfully, the midfield offered several fights, which included Leclerc who struggled to make any progress. It was a similar story for Hamilton, who finished in 17th.