Oscar Piastri also dominated qualifying in Qatar – and started the race from pole position. World Cup aspirant Lando Norris starts the race directly behind, with Max Verstappen in third place.
Oscar Piastri secured pole position in a dramatic qualifying session at the Qatar Grand Prix and put another exclamation mark in the Formula 1 title fight. The Australian McLaren driver took the lead in the last attempt with a track record and will start on Sunday ahead of World Championship leader Lando Norris (England/McLaren) and defending champion Max Verstappen (Netherlands/Red Bull).
If Norris wins the race, he is guaranteed the title. Overtaking is difficult on the fast track in Lusail near Doha, so the starting position is extremely important. Norris currently leads the World Cup by 22 points over Piastri and 25 over Verstappen. He came third in the sprint on Saturday afternoon.
Piastri is best in sprints
Piastri took the victory there, fourth place went to Verstappen. For Lewis Hamilton, qualifying became the next debacle. The record world champion only finished 18th in the Ferrari, and again it was over after the first part of qualifying. Things went similarly badly for him in the sprint, where the Brit finished 17th, clearly outside the points. Nico Hülkenberg (Emmerich/Sauber) took a good eleventh place on the grid, Charles Leclerc in the second Ferrari came tenth.