Oscar Piastri will start from pole position for the Qatar sprint race after a composed and rapid qualifying lap at Lusail on Friday, perfectly poised to cut into McLaren teammate Lando Norris’s 24‑point lead in the Formula One championship. Norris will line up third, while the other title contender — Red Bull’s four-time world champion Max Verstappen — could manage only sixth on the grid, one place behind teammate Yuki Tsunoda.

Piastri, who has now taken pole for the Qatar sprint having also won the last two sprints held at Lusail, delivered a best time of 1 minute 20.055 seconds in the final qualifying segment, edging Mercedes’ George Russell by just 0.032 seconds.

That lap completed what had already been an impressive day for the Australian, who had topped the only practice session earlier. “I’m pretty happy. It has been a while since I’ve been on P1,” he said, admitting the lap nearly got away from him at Turn 4. He joked that “turning left in a right-hand corner is never a good thing,” explaining that he lost two tenths there and briefly thought the lap was ruined, before pushing on and recovering enough time to secure pole.

Russell will start second, a position his race engineer wryly described as being the “meat in the McLaren sandwich” between Piastri and Norris. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso took fourth, while Tsunoda claimed fifth for Red Bull. The Japanese driver has already indicated he will do all he can to support Verstappen’s title bid, making it likely he will not resist if asked to move aside during the sprint.

The qualifying session unfolded in phases that showcased different front-runners. Verstappen was quickest in the first part, though Norris accused him of impeding; the stewards noted the possible incident but took no further action.

In the second phase, Norris went fastest ahead of Piastri, underlining McLaren’s strong one-lap pace. In the decisive final segment, however, it was Piastri who produced when it mattered most, bumping Norris down to third when Russell split the two McLarens.

Norris later admitted he made a mistake in the final corner on his last run. Looking ahead to the sprint, he sounded realistic about his chances in what is expected to be a difficult race for overtaking. “I would be stupid not to try and win, but it’s impossible to overtake, so I think I will probably finish P3,” he said, adding that getting past Russell on the line is likely the best he can hope for.

With eight points available to the winner in the 100km sprint and a total of 58 points still on offer across the final two rounds in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, every position could prove crucial in the title run-in.

Verstappen, who is level on points with Piastri in the standings, reported severe handling issues over team radio and in his post-session comments. He complained that the car was “bouncing like crazy.” The Dutchman said that adjustments made from the steering wheel never really solved the problem, making the session “quite tricky” and suggesting that, with the current balance, the sprint would be more about survival than enjoyment.

The comments echoed the previous race in Las Vegas, where both McLarens suffered from porpoising and were later disqualified for excessive skid wear.

It was another difficult day for seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, now driving for Ferrari, who qualified only 18th. That result comes just a week after he started last on the grid in Las Vegas, extending a rough patch of Saturdays.

When asked if there were any positives to take from the weekend, Hamilton replied dryly that “the weather’s nice,” underlining his frustration. Alpine endured their own struggles, locking out the back row with Pierre Gasly 19th and Franco Colapinto 20th.

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