Australian driver Oscar Piastri, who last season won the F1 Sprint in Qatar, claimed his first pole position since August on Friday evening, setting the pace at the Lusail International Circuit.
The title contender recorded a flying lap benchmark of 1:20.055s, 0.032s clear of Mercedes’ George Russell, who locked out the front row for tomorrow’s race.
“A great start to the weekend,” outlined the polesitter. “The car felt very good throughout all of Sprint Qualifying, so thank you to the team. The pace has been there all day, so it was good to be able to put it together.
“We’ll review overnight to see what we can do to make sure we finish at the front in the Sprint tomorrow and set ourselves up properly for Qualifying.”
Fine margins separated the first half of the 20-driver grid (all on the soft tire), lining up for Saturday’s 19-lap Qatar Grand Prix Sprint.
According to the Sprint format, the race, covering 100km (62 mi), awards points to the first eight racers who cross the finish line.
With the Formula 1 Drivers’ World Championship on the line this weekend, every single point can make a huge difference.
Championship leader Lando Norris will line up in the second row, after making a mistake in his final lap to finish two-tenths further than his teammate Piastri, setting a 1:20.285s lap time.
Meanwhile, Aston Martin Fernando Alonso took P4 by storm, edging out both Red Bull Racing drivers Yuki Tsunoda and four-time World Champion Max Verstappen, sitting just in sixth place.
The Dutchman, fighting for a fifth title at the pinnacle of motorsport, struggled with serious bounce in the car.
He missed his first SQ3 fast lap by going wide, damaging the underside of the car and the tires. On his final outing, he set a time far from ideal but enough to start from the third row.
“From the first lap, just really bad bouncing and very aggressive understeer that would shift into oversteer at high speeds,” he shared after qualy.
“We tried to, of course, change a few things on the wheel, but it never really worked, which made it quite tricky.”
Assessing his chances for Saturday, he remarked, “With this balance tomorrow in the sprint at least, it will not be a lot of fun. It will be more about trying to survive, I guess, and make some changes going into qualifying (for the Grand Prix).”
All Eyes on the Crown
Norris, 26, arrived in the Persian Gulf for the Qatar Grand Prix, holding a 24-point advantage over Piastri and Verstappen.
The British racer is on the brink of winning his maiden Formula One crown at the Lusail circuit. If he earns two points over both title rivals throughout the weekend or only one (if he wins the race), then he could be the 2025 champion.
Overall, 33 points will be at stake throughout the penultimate round of the year, with the season coming to a close in Abu Dhabi.
“The pace was there, but I didn’t get a proper chance to show it. I made a mistake on the first lap, and my second lap was compromised when Alex Albon got ahead,” Norris commented on his qualifying run.
“We’ll see what we can do from P3 tomorrow, as always, we’ll go out and fight for the win. It can be tricky to pass here, but that’s exactly what I’ll try to do.”
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, Williams’ Carlos Sainz, Scuderia Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, and Alex Albon, who also made it through SQ3 for the outfit founded by Frank Williams, complete the Top 10.
FIA Provisional Qualifying:
Qualifying for Sunday’s Grand Prix will follow the Sprint on Saturday.