Formula 1 in Qatar
Hot sprint qualification: Norris duped by competitors
Updated 11/28/2025 – 7:37 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
The qualifying for the sprint race in Doha turns into a thriller. In the end, Oscar Piastri prevails. A superstar has to accept the next setback.
A pinprick from Oscar Piastri in the direction of his McLaren teammate Lando Norris. The Australian won the sprint qualifying at the Qatar Grand Prix and will start from the front in the sprint on Saturday (from 3 p.m. in the live ticker on t-online) – ahead of George Russell, who surprisingly took second place in the Mercedes. The championship leader Norris ended up in third place.
“It was a very good day, I had a few mistakes on the lap. It’s all the better that I can say that and still be at the front. It’s only the pole for the sprint, but there are some points to be gained there too,” said Piastri, who, like Verstappen, is 24 points behind his teammate Norris in the World Cup. McLaren boss Zak Brown emphasized: “Oscar is back.”
Defending champion Max Verstappen (Red Bull) only finished sixth. The Dutchman cursed the car and was even beaten by his teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who finished fifth. sixth place for the sprint.
“We had understeer, which turned into oversteer at high speeds. The car jumped, you just can’t drive fast,” said Verstappen after qualifying and wasn’t necessarily optimistic about the rest of the race weekend: “With this balance in the car it won’t be much fun, it’ll be about surviving.”
Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton experienced another disappointment: the seven-time world champion was eliminated in the first part of qualifying in his Ferrari. “Oh man, the car just doesn’t go any faster,” he radioed in frustration. Nico Hülkenberg (Emmerich/Sauber) took 14th place on the grid.