Oscar Piastri will start Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix from pole position after a well-executed qualifying display at the Lusail International Circuit.
The McLaren driver held his nerve in a tense final shootout to edge teammate and championship leader Lando Norris, with Max Verstappen lining up third for Red Bull in a front-row battle that could define the title run-in.
Norris led the way after the first Q3 laps but made a costly error in the final minutes, running wide at Turn 2 and aborting his last attempt. Piastri made no such mistake, hooking up a clean, committed lap that delivered a 1m19.387s and ensured he would start at the head of the grid.
“We left it pretty much the same with some minor tweaks here and there,” Piastri said of the McLaren setup that carried him to pole.
“Everything felt great all weekend, so, yeah, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! … Q3 was really good on the new set, so I’m very happy.”
Verstappen finished just a tenth further back, giving himself a realistic chance of extending the championship into Abu Dhabi, provided he beats Norris on Sunday.
Q1 –
With the earlier Sprint sessions giving teams a clearer understanding of the track, Q1 began with drivers pushing almost immediately.
However, the ever-improving grip levels at Lusail meant early times were quickly rendered meaningless, prompting a flurry of final laps.
Piastri briefly led the field with a 1m20.739s, with Russell and Alonso close behind.
Verstappen was less pleased, complaining on the radio after encountering Carlos Sainz during a push lap and once again noting “jumping” over bumps in the high-speed sections.
Norris found himself unusually deep in the midfield after his first attempt, over seven-tenths off Piastri. Ferrari struggled even more: Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton sat in the drop zone, unable to find balance or traction in the early phase.
As grip ramped up dramatically, the order shuffled again. Isack Hadjar momentarily topped the times, followed by Gasly, signalling that almost every driver would need to run again.
In the final seconds, Russell delivered a strong 1m20.074s to lead the session, just ahead of the two McLarens, who elected not to push for further laps.
Liam Lawson impressed with a composed run to P7, comfortably advancing and keeping the Racing Bulls inside the top ten. His early pace suggested the car was responding far better than it had during Friday’s running.
Gasly narrowly escaped elimination after losing his final lap to track limits, but still held onto P15 by a fraction.
Tsunoda, Ocon, and Hamilton were left stunned as the clock expired, with the seven-time champion eliminated from Q1 for the third consecutive weekend. Lance Stroll and Franco Colapinto completed the list of casualties.
Knocked Out: Tsunoda, Ocon, Hamilton, Stroll, Colapinto
Q2 –
Armed with fresh tyres and data from Q1, Piastri set the tone immediately in Q2, clocking a lap that put him comfortably at the top.
Norris initially looked out of sync, losing his first lap to a Turn 10 track limits violation and sitting over half a second behind his teammate.
Verstappen also needed time to dial in, opting for a build lap before launching a quicker effort that reduced the deficit to McLaren.
By the midpoint, the Dutchman had moved into second, ahead of a competitive pack including Russell, Sainz, and Hadjar.
As the segment tightened, teams fitted new soft tyres for one final showdown. Norris delivered under pressure, slotting into P2 and closing the gap to Piastri to just over two-tenths.
Further back, the battle to progress into Q3 was decided by thousandths. Leclerc, visibly wrestling with a nervous Ferrari, pushed every millimetre of track, and occasionally beyond it, before scraping into ninth. Hadjar sealed the final Q3 berth by just 0.003s.
That tiny margin was brutal for Nico Hulkenberg, but equally disappointing for Lawson, who wound up P12.
The Kiwi had been in the mix after Q1 but struggled to extract more performance when the times tightened. He explained the situation post-session:
“The car has been very sensitive this weekend, but it felt in a much better window compared to yesterday, meaning we ended Q1 in a good place.
Unfortunately, very small changes make the car feel tricky to drive, so we barely improved in Q2.
It’s frustrating, but a step up from yesterday, given our race pace was very good when the balance was there. We’ll come together to make improvements ahead of the race tomorrow.”
Bearman, Bortoleto—who cost himself a final attempt by dipping into gravel—and Albon, who remains under investigation for a pit lane incident, joined Lawson on the sidelines.
Knocked Out: Hulkenberg, Lawson, Bearman, Bortoleto, Albon
Q3 –
The final segment began with Norris delivering an early punch, edging Piastri by just 0.035s.
Russell sat third, Verstappen fourth after aborting his opening push lap, while Leclerc spun wildly through the high-speed section and limped back to the pits without a time.
Moments later, chaos: Carlos Sainz rejoined the track with a large decal from the Williams garage floor stuck to his front tyre.
The sticker detached mid-lap, scattering debris at speed and triggering a red flag while marshals recovered the fragments. The unusual incident is now under investigation.
Once the session resumed, the pressure was immediate. Norris was the first of the contenders to go for a final lap, but a small misjudgment into Turn 2 saw him drop wheels wide and abandon the attempt.
His mistake opened the door for Piastri, who delivered a clean and controlled lap to secure pole.
Verstappen improved but remained third, unable to threaten the McLarens. Russell, Antonelli, Hadjar, Sainz, Alonso, Gasly and Leclerc completed the final ten.
A McLaren front row sets the stage for a fascinating duel. Norris knows a win will guarantee him the world championship.
Piastri, however, has momentum and nothing to lose. Verstappen lurks just behind, ready to pounce should either McLaren falter.
Further back, Lawson starts just outside the top ten in 12th with confidence that Racing Bulls’ long-run pace may allow him to move forward. The Kiwi has shown flashes of strong form, and a clean start could put him into the points mix.
With temperatures rising and tyre degradation likely to shape strategy, the Qatar Grand Prix promises more than just a title storyline—it may deliver one of the season’s most pivotal races.
Header Image: Sam Bloxham/Getty Images via Red Bull Content Pool
