Piastri closes in on Norris with comfortable Qatar GP sprint win

Oscar Piastri boosted his slim Formula 1 title chances with a comfortable victory in the Qatar Grand Prix sprint.

The McLaren driver started from pole and controlled a very straightforward race from the front, the Australian never challenged by George Russell, who finished second ahead of championship leader Lando Norris.

The order up front – and pretty much all throughout the field – was settled on the opening lap, the 19-lap contest proving, for the most part, a processional event.

Max Verstappen had to settle for fourth place, his deficit to Norris in the championship now up to 25 points.

Piastri, meanwhile, is now 22 points behind his team-mate ahead of tomorrow’s main race.

Piastri made a perfect start from pole and easily managed to keep the lead from Russell and Norris, as Verstappen gained a place by passing team-mate Yuki Tsunoda.

Verstappen had initially put Norris under pressure, but started to lose ground as he complained about the excessive bouncing of his car, a problem he had also suffered on Friday.

Tsunoda finished behind Verstappen in fifth despite a five-second penalty for a track limits offence.

Kimi Antonelli initially benefitted from the penalty to move up to fifth in the second Mercedes, only to be demoted to sixth after the chequered flag for the same infraction, the Italian having gained a position thanks to Fernando Alonso going off on lap 13.

The Aston Martin driver wound up seventh ahead of Williams driver Carlos Sainz, who completed the points-paying positions in eighth.

Ferrari failed to score a sprint race for the first time this year, with Charles Leclerc in 13th and Lewis Hamilton in 17th.

Four drivers – Lance Stroll, Hamilton, Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto started the race from the pitlane after breaching parc fermé rules to make changes to their cars.

2025 Qatar GP sprint results