LUSAIL: Oscar Piastri delivered when it counted in Friday’s Sprint Qualifying, securing pole position for the Qatar Sprint ahead of George Russell and McLaren team-mate Lando Norris.
The Australian was the class of SQ3, topping the segment with both of his flying laps. His final time, a 1:20.055, edged Russell by just 0.032s, underlining how tight the battle for pole had become as the Lusail circuit transitioned into night conditions.
Championship leader Norris—24 points clear of Piastri and Verstappen heading into the weekend and with a chance to seal his first F1 title—ended up third after running wide at the final corner on his last attempt, losing critical time.
Fernando Alonso impressed with P4 for Aston Martin, while Yuki Tsunoda out-paced Red Bull team-mate Verstappen, who battled bouncing issues and could do no better than sixth.
Rookie Kimi Antonelli took seventh for Mercedes, followed by Carlos Sainz in the Williams, Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari, and Alex Albon completing the top 10 in the second Williams.
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