After clinching pole in the Qatar GP Sprint earlier today, McLaren's Oscar Piastri followed it up by securing pole in qualifying, ensuring he starts from the front of the grid for tomorrow's Grand Prix. The Australian denied teammate Lando Norris the top spot, while Max Verstappen joined them to complete a front-row battle of title contenders, with Norris lining up second and Verstappen third.
Lando Norris led the timesheets early in Q3 at the Lusail International Circuit, but a brief debris delay disrupted momentum. On his final push, the championship leader ran wide at turn 2 and abandoned the lap. That mistake allowed teammate Oscar Piastri to seize pole with a 1m19.387s, edging Norris by 0.108s. While Piastri celebrates the front-row start, Norris knows that victory in Sunday's race would secure his maiden Formula 1 World Championship.
Williams' Carlos Sainz caused a brief interruption after shedding debris that led to minor damage on track, though he recovered to finish inside the top 10. Meanwhile, the seven-time world champion, now racing for Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton endured another setback, bowing out in Q1 for the third consecutive qualifying session. Remarkably, it marks the first time Hamilton has failed to progress to Q2 at successive Grands Prix since a three-race run back in 2009, underscoring Ferrari's mounting struggles.
With this, we have finally got the grid positions for the Qatar GP, scheduled for tomorrow.
| POS | NO | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:20.436 | 1:20.066 | 1:19.978 | 22 |
| 2 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:20.403 | 1:20.014 | 1:20.010 | 22 |
| 3 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | 1:20.447 | 1:20.084 | 1:20.082 | 20 |
| 4 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:20.372 | 1:20.153 | 1:20.153 | 22 |
| 5 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB | 1:20.494 | 1:20.429 | 1:20.485 | 20 |
| 6 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas F1 Team | 1:20.478 | 1:20.478 | 1:20.615 | 20 |
| 7 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:20.417 | 1:20.479 | 1:20.766 | 21 |
| 8 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB | 1:20.481 | 1:20.548 | 1:20.768 | 20 |
| 9 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 1:20.496 | 1:20.429 | 1:20.850 | 20 |
| 10 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:20.447 | 1:20.528 | 1:20.857 | 21 |
| 11 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1:20.483 | 1:20.591 | 20 | |
| 12 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:20.491 | 1:20.611 | 20 | |
| 13 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas F1 Team | 1:20.491 | 1:20.646 | 20 | |
| 14 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Kick Sauber | 1:20.486 | 1:20.690 | 20 | |
| 15 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Kick Sauber | 1:20.531 | 1:20.692 | 20 | |
| 16 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull Racing | 1:20.724 | 11 | ||
| 17 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | 1:20.749 | 11 | ||
| 18 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 1:20.835 | 11 | ||
| 19 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 1:20.853 | 11 | ||
| 20 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:21.355 | 11 |