Oscar Piastri Beats Norris to Qatar Grand Prix Pole
Oscar Piastri secured pole for the Qatar Grand Prix after beating Lando Norris by 0.035s in a dominant McLaren display at Lusail. Max Verstappen and George Russell start on the second row, unable to match McLaren’s pace as the title fight tightened further.
Norris had set the early benchmark in Q3 but a small mistake on his warm-up lap meant he missed the flag for a second run, leaving Piastri free to snatch pole with a clean final effort. Verstappen briefly went purple in sector one yet faded over the lap and ended third.
Shock exits in Q1 and Q2
The evening began with major upsets as Yuki Tsunoda dropped out in P16 and Lewis Hamilton qualified a distant 18th on another bruising night for Ferrari. Esteban Ocon also fell at the first hurdle.
Q2 saw Piastri lead again while Norris recovered from a deleted lap to go second. Nico Hulkenberg, Liam Lawson, Ollie Bearman, Gabriel Bortoleto and Alex Albon were eliminated, with Charles Leclerc scraping through in P9.
Red flag and final-lap drama
Q3 was briefly stopped after debris from Carlos Sainz’s Williams and gravel from Leclerc’s spin littered the track. When running resumed, McLaren held firm. Piastri nailed his final lap, Verstappen and Russell improved but stayed third and fourth, and Norris had to settle for his banker.
⏪ Rewind to that Leclerc spin
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 29, 2025
It was a big one! 😵#F1 #QatarGP pic.twitter.com/hhfGj8VO0N
Behind the top four, Kimi Antonelli impressed in fifth ahead of Isack Hadjar, with Sainz, Fernando Alonso, Pierre Gasly and Leclerc completing the top ten.
With the front row locked out, McLaren head into Sunday poised for a decisive Championship fight. Norris can seal the title with a win while Piastri needs victory to take the battle to the finale. Verstappen, starting third, must finish ahead of Norris to keep his hopes alive.
Earlier today, Oscar Piastri won the Qatar Sprint.
