2025 Qatar GP Sprint Qualifying: Piastri Takes Sprint Pole off Russell

Oscar Piastri delivered when it counted beneath the Lusail floodlights, securing pole position for Saturday’s 19-lap Sprint at the 2025 Qatar Grand Prix and outpacing George Russell and McLaren teammate Lando Norris in a tense SQ3 shootout. The Australian looked hooked-up from the moment the top-10 session began, topping the times after each of his flying laps and sealing Sprint pole with a 1:20.055, just 0.032s ahead of Russell’s best effort for Mercedes. In a weekend that could reshape the 2025 F1 World Championship, it was a statement lap from a driver who refuses to fade from the title fight.

What To Know?

Piastri takes the chequered flag with P1, beating Russell by just 0.032s.
Norris is third, ahead of Alonso, and Tsunoda is fifth, ahead of Verstappen.
Sixth for title contender and reigning champion, Max Verstappen, 0.287s off Oscar Piastri’s pole time.

Norris — championship leader by 24 points over both Piastri and Max Verstappen — was forced to settle for third, two-tenths back after running wide at the final corner on his last push lap. A win in either the Sprint or Sunday’s Grand Prix could move him within reach of sealing a maiden world title, but Sprint Qualifying showed there will be nothing straightforward about it. Fernando Alonso continued his strong Qatar form in P4 for Aston Martin, while Yuki Tsunoda stunned with P5 — ahead of Verstappen, who once again battled bouncing and could manage only sixth. The first time, Yuki had outqualified his teammate, Max, still 19-1.

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Behind them, the rest of the field faced mixed fortunes and high consequences. Rising star Kimi Antonelli secured P7 for Mercedes, with Carlos Sainz eighth for Williams ahead of Charles Leclerc and Alex Albon — the Williams pair locking out the final spots in the top ten. But the standout drama came from those who missed SQ3.

Isack Hadjar looked set for progression before losing his final lap to track limits at Turn 8, dropping to P11 ahead of Ollie Bearman’s Haas and Gabriel Bortoleto’s Kick Sauber. Nico Hulkenberg would suffer the same fate, track limits wiping his best lap and leaving him P14, just ahead of Esteban Ocon’s Haas.

The biggest shock fell even earlier. Lance Stroll was the first driver eliminated in SQ1, followed by Liam Lawson and Lewis Hamilton — the Ferrari star once again exiting in the opening phase of qualifying, a trend that will sting heading into the Sprint.

Alpine completed the back row, Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto rounding out the order for Saturday’s 19-lap dash.

The following day, Saturday, four cars had been relegated to the pit lane: Lance Stroll, Lewis Hamilton, Pierre Gasly, and Franco Colapinto. All four cars endured a difficult sprint qualifying on Friday, exiting the session after SQ1.

With the championship knife-edge sharp, Piastri’s Sprint pole could prove far more than a headline — it may be the first decisive swing of a defining weekend in Qatar.

2025 Qatar GP Sprint Qualifying Results

2025 Qatar Grand Prix Sprint Qualifying, 28 November 2025

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	1:21.286	1:21.005	1:20.055	18
2	63	George Russell	Mercedes	1:21.432	1:21.136	1:20.087	19
3	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	1:21.398	1:20.956	1:20.285	18
4	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	1:21.276	1:21.272	1:20.450	18
5	22	Yuki Tsunoda	Red Bull Racing	1:21.458	1:21.152	1:20.519	20
6	1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:21.172	1:21.036	1:20.528	20
7	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	1:21.555	1:21.376	1:20.532	18
8	55	Carlos Sainz	Williams	1:21.438	1:21.172	1:20.542	20
9	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:21.636	1:21.190	1:20.622	20
10	23	Alexander Albon	Williams	1:21.721	1:21.212	1:20.788	20
11	6	Isack Hadjar	Racing Bulls	1:21.399	1:21.433		14
12	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas F1 Team	1:21.526	1:21.494		14
13	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Kick Sauber	1:21.623	1:21.567		13
14	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Kick Sauber	1:21.327	1:21.631		14
15	31	Esteban Ocon	Haas F1 Team	1:21.773	1:21.666		14
16	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	1:21.807			7
17	30	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	1:21.851			6
18	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	1:22.043			8
19	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	1:22.112			8
20	43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	1:22.364			8

2025 Qatar GP Sprint Starting Grid

The Sprint starting grid, with or without penalties, after the 2025 Qatar Grand Prix Sprint Qualifying session.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	1:20.055	18
2	63	George Russell	Mercedes	1:20.087	19
3	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	1:20.285	18
4	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	1:20.450	18
5	22	Yuki Tsunoda	Red Bull Racing	1:20.519	20
6	1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:20.528	20
7	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	1:20.532	18
8	55	Carlos Sainz	Williams	1:20.542	20
9	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:20.622	20
10	23	Alexander Albon	Williams	1:20.788	20
11	6	Isack Hadjar	Racing Bulls	1:21.433	14
12	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas F1 Team	1:21.494	14
13	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Kick Sauber	1:21.567	13
14	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Kick Sauber	1:21.631	14
15	31	Esteban Ocon	Haas F1 Team	1:21.666	14
16	18	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	1:21.851	6
Pitlane	30	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	1:21.807	7
Pitlane	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	1:22.043	8
Pitlane	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	1:22.112	8
Pitlane	43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	1:22.364	8

Race Guide

Season: 2025 F1 World Championship
Race weekend: 28 November 2025 – 30 November 2025
Race date: Sunday, 30 November, 2025
Race start time: 19:00 local time
Circuit: Lusail International Circuit
Laps: 57
Circuit length: 5.38km
2024 winner: Max Verstappen

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Ben is a staff writer specialising in F1 from the 1990s to the modern era. Ben has been following Formula 1 since 1986 and is an avid researcher who loves understanding the technology that makes it one of the most exciting motorsport on the planet. He listens to podcasts about F1 on a daily basis, and enjoys reading books from the inspirational Adrian Newey to former F1 drivers.