McLaren’s Oscar Piastri returned to top form by taking pole position for the Sprint at the 2025 FIA Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix, beating Mercedes’ George Russell and championship leading team-mate Lando Norris. Red Bull’s title contender Max Verstappen qualified in P6 behind his team-mate Yuki Tsunoda. 

In the opening segment, Lewis Hamilton was the major faller. The Briton flirted with the drop zone throughout and ahead of his final run he sat in 17th place. And on his crucial lap he still 

failed to find pace. He crossed the line in P15 but was quickly shunted back into the drop as Kimi Antonelli made his way forward, and as more improvements arrived the seven-time champion slid to 18th. 

At the top of the order in SQ1, Verstappen took top spot with a time of 1:21.172 a little over a tenth ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, with Piastri third ahead of Kick Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg and Norris. 

Norris set the opening-run pace in SQ2 with a time of 1:20.956, 0.049s ahead of Piastri with Russell in third ahead of Verstappen. Norris didn’t get in a second run but it wasn’t needed as Piastri failed to get closer with his final flyer. Verstappen did improve on his and he reclaimed third place with a final lap of 1:21.0036 to push Russell back to fourth. Yuki Tsunoda went through in P5 ahead of Williams’ Carlos Sainz, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in P7, while Alex Albon eased through in P8 ahead of Alonso.

There was a narrow escape for Antonelli, however. Isack Hadjar thought he’d done enough to deny his fellow rookies an SQ3 berth, but the Racing Bulls driver almost immediately dropped to 11th when his final lap time was deleted for an excursion beyond track limits. 

The French driver exited ahead of fellow rookies OIlie Bearman and Gabirel Bortoleto, with Hülkenberg exiting behind his team-mate and ahead of Haas’ Esteban Ocon. 

It was Piastri who took provisional pole in the opening runs of the final top 10 shootout. The 

Australian posted a lap of 1:20.241, 0.044s ahead of Norris who had to make a lift when he got a snap late in his lap. There was worse for Verstappen, however. The Dutchman was experiencing unpredictable porpoising and when the car grounded on entry into Turn 4 he bounced off track and through the gravel strip. He went into his final run in P10. 

And it was Piastri who took pole for the Sprint. Verstappen couldn’t recover from his opening-run woes and his final lap only bumped him up to P4. That was beat team-mate Tsunoda who was in turn beaten by Alonso. It’s the first time Verstappen has been outqualified by a team-mate since the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. 

Russell them delivered a strong lap of 1:20.087 to grab P1, but Piastri was just a hundred metres or so behind the Mercedes driver and when he crossed the line he was three hundredths of a second clear and on pole. Norris’s final flying lap was compromised by jockeying for position with Alex Albion as both went to start their laps but his opener was good enough for P3 ahead of Alonso and Tsunoda. Verstappen will start sixth ahead of Antonelli and Sainz and row five will occupied by Leclerc and Albon. 

2025 FIA Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix – Sprint Qualifying 
1 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:20.055 - -
2 George Russell Mercedes 1:20.087 0.032 0.040
3 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:20.285 0.230 0.287
4 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:20.450 0.395 0.493
5 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:20.519 0.464 0.580
6 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:20.528 0.473 0.591
7 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:20.532 0.477 0.596
8 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 1:20.542 0.487 0.608
9 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:20.622 0.567 0.708
10 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:20.788 0.733 0.916
11 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:21.433 1.378 1.721
12 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1:21.494 1.439 1.798
13 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber/Ferrari 1:21.567 1.512 1.889
14 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber/Ferrari 1:21.631 1.576 1.969
15 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1:21.666 1.611 2.012
16 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:21.807 1.752 2.188
17 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:21.851 1.796 2.243
18 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:22.043 1.988 2.483
19 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1:22.112 2.057 2.569
20 Franco Colapinto Alpine/Renault 1:22.364 2.309 2.884