Qualifying Report - Piastri beats Norris to pole

Oscar Piastri
© McLaren

Oscar Piastri secured pole position for the Qatar Grand Prix with a composed and measured final lap, beating McLaren team-mate Lando Norris by 0.108s in a tight qualifying session at Losail on Saturday evening. Piastri’s 1m19.387s was the decisive time of Q3, delivered after Norris ran wide at Turn 2 and was unable to reset for another attempt. The result marks Piastri’s first grand prix pole since Zandvoort in August and gives McLaren a front-row lockout heading into Sunday’s race.

Norris had set the early benchmark in Q3 with a 1m19.495s, edging Piastri’s initial 1m19.530s as the pair immediately established a clear advantage over the field. A brief red flag—caused by a sticker peeled from Carlos Sainz’s Williams—paused the session before the final runs. When running resumed, Norris opted to leave the garage early but made his crucial Turn 2 error and lacked the fuel margin for a recovery lap. Piastri, by contrast, improved in the first sector and held the advantage through the remainder of the lap to seal pole.

Max Verstappen climbed to third with a late 1m19.651s, 0.264s off Piastri, ensuring he slotted ahead of George Russell’s 1m19.662s for the second row. Andrea Kimi Antonelli took fifth with a 1m19.846s, two tenths behind Russell.

Isack Hadjar continued his strong qualifying form for Racing Bulls, securing sixth with a 1m20.114s. Sainz recovered from his earlier sticker-related delay to take seventh on a 1m20.287s, though he faces scrutiny for a possible unsafe release. Fernando Alonso joined him on row four after a 1m20.418s, while Pierre Gasly’s 1m20.477s put him ahead of Charles Leclerc. The Ferrari driver survived a high-speed Q3 spin and completed the top ten with a 1m20.561s.

Nico Hulkenberg narrowly missed out on Q3 by three thousandths, as Leclerc’s late improvement pushed him to 11th. Liam Lawson’s final lap elevated him to 12th ahead of Ollie Bearman, who was edged out when Antonelli earned his Q3 berth. Gabriel Bortoleto and Alex Albon followed, the Williams driver recording identical 1m20.629s laps in both Q1 and Q2.

Yuki Tsunoda fell back into the elimination zone at the end of Q1 despite briefly lifting himself to 12th. Esteban Ocon continued to battle braking issues on his way to 17th, while Lewis Hamilton endured another difficult session in 18th. Lance Stroll and Franco Colapinto completed the field.

The stage is set for a McLaren-led fight on Sunday, with Piastri holding the early advantage as the title race tightens once again.