Oscar Piastri vanquishes demons with comeback statement in Qatar

Oscar Piastri clinched pole position for the sprint at the Qatar Grand Prix, going 32 milliseconds faster than George Russell.

Championship leader Lando Norris rounded out the top three in the shorter grid-setting session at the Lusail International Circuit.

Fernando Alonso and Yuki Tsunoda rounded out the top five, ahead of Max Verstappen, who will complete the third row on the grid in the one-third distance race.

Lewis Hamilton was a big early casualty, just a week after qualifying last at the Las Vegas Grand Prix. The Ferrari driver will start from P18.

Check out the full report from sprint qualifying at the 2025 F1 Qatar Grand Prix below.

SQ3

Kimi Antonelli set the first quick lap in SQ3, before being immediately bettered by Russell in the sister W16.

Soon, Carlos Sainz was between the team-mates, with compatriot Alonso for company.

However, once the McLarens got involved, they went quickest. Verstappen, meanwhile, was furious with his RB21, going off and failing to set a representative time at his first attempt.

The four-time F1 drivers' champion took to team radio to lash out at his bouncing Red Bull, which violently went across the gravel.

Piastri had the initiative, with a slender advantage over Norris. Verstappen's difficult segment continued, going fourth fastest in his final effort, with potential floor damage.

He would fall to sixth, behind Alonso and Tsunoda in the second car, who out-qualified him for the first time as Red Bull team-mates.

Russell threw a spanner in the works, getting between the MCL39s for another front row start in Lusail. Antonelli, Sainz, Charles Leclerc and Alex Albon took the final positions in the top 10.

SQ2

Verstappen carried on where he left off in SQ1 to start the second segment of sprint qualifying, before Norris and Piastri reclaimed the top of the timing board with five minutes to run — a near repeat from the first section.

Both Mercedes drivers were out far earlier in SQ2, with Russell third fastest after the first attempts, ahead of the Dutchman.

Alonso, having been strong in practice and SQ1, was struggling, sitting last among the remaining drivers. He was joined in the elimination zone by Gabriel Bortoleto, Alex Albon and the two Haas drivers.

The two-time F1 drivers' champion managed to drag himself from danger, going seventh fastest, but started sliding back down to jeopardy as others set their times.

Antonelli just survived, setting the tenth-quickest time after Isack Hadjar saw his final attempt deleted for a track limits violation.

Up top, the three championship protagonists were separated by just 80 milliseconds; Norris ahead of Piastri and Verstappen.

OUT IN SQ2: P11 - Isack Hadjar; P12 - Oliver Bearman; P13 - Gabriel Bortoleto; P14 - Nico Hulkenberg; P15 - Esteban Ocon

SQ1

Verstappen cut the beam in sprint qualifying, kicking off the 12-minute medium-tyre-only session by leading the Ferrari of Leclerc and team-mate Tsunoda a few minutes into the session.

However, with the track busy from the start, the lap times tumbled quickly. Five minutes in, the McLarens of Norris and Piastri topped the timing board, ahead of the Aston Martin of Alonso in a repeat of practice.

The Red Bull driver soon responded, going fastest two minutes later. Further back, neither Mercedes had yet to set a push time, and Hamilton again found himself at risk, sitting in P16 and in the drop zone.

When Antonelli finally set a time, it was not convincing. He went P15 but immediately fell back into danger. Russell, meanwhile, fared better, going fifth.

Hamilton and the driver who took his saw their destinies tied together, with the Ferrari man only good enough for P15 on his final push lap, whilst the young Italian sealed his fate.

The seven-time F1 drivers' champion eventually took P18, quicker only than the Alpines of Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto.

Norris and Verstappen were noted for impeding, with the Dutchman appearing to block the McLaren driver. However, the stewards declined the opportunity to investigate further and decided no further action was needed.

OUT IN SQ1: P16 - Lance Stroll; P17 - Liam Lawson; P18 - Lewis Hamilton; P19 - Pierre Gasly; P20 - Franco Colapinto