Oscar Piastri dominated the Qatar Grand Prix Sprint to cut his deficit to championship leader Lando Norris to 22 points after the British driver finished third.
Pole-sitter Piastri led every moment of the 19-lap Sprint on Saturday from George Russell, while Norris fended off an early attack from Max Verstappen who made up ground from sixth on the opening lap but falls to 25 points behind Norris with just two races to go in Qatar on Sunday and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on December 7.
The result still means Norris will be world champion if he at least 26 points ahead of Piastri and Verstappen after Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix.
The most simple way he can do that is by winning the race, or finishing second with Verstappen behind him and Piastri off the podium.
Verstappen and Piastri must stay within 25 points of Norris to remain in title contention for next weekend’s season finale in Abu Dhabi.
“It’s been a good weekend so far. Everything went smoothly in the Sprint there, so I’m happy with how it’s been so far and just need to keep it rolling,” said Piastri.
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Oscar Piastri holds his lead of the Qatar GP Sprint race on the first lap as Max Verstappen overtakes team-mate Yuki Tsunoda
Yuki Tsunoda produced his best Red Bull result of the season with fifth, despite a five-second time penalty for track limits and Kimi Antonelli made the only pass in the top 10 during the Sprint to finish seventh, also incurring a penalty for track limits.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was seventh with Williams’ Carlos Sainz scoring the final point in eighth.
Ferrari had a difficult Sprint with Charles Leclerc in 13th and Lewis Hamilton stating “I don’t know how we made the car worse” on his way from the pit lane to 17th.
Piastri back on form as season title race climax
Piastri has lost points to Norris at the last seven race weekends, seeing a 34-point lead over his team-mate at the end of August swing into a 24-point deficit coming into Qatar.
However, the smoother track layout and high-speed corners have suited Piastri’s driving style and he controlled the Sprint to score his first win of any kind since the Dutch Grand Prix three months ago.
“It’s obviously a very different circuit to where we have been, much higher speed, much higher grip, but I think the last couple of weekends has just been things going wrong rather than a lack of pace,” said Piastri.
“Here, everything’s gone smoothly so far, and the pace has been strong. It’s a track I’ve enjoyed in the past, and I’m enjoying it again, clearly.”
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Join Sky Sports News’ Craig Slater for a flyover of the Qatar GP ahead of Saturday’s Sprint race
Piastri never came under threat from Russell, who aggressively moved over on Norris on the tense run down to Turn One as the Mercedes driver knew he had less to lose against the championship leader.
This left Norris vulnerable to Tsunoda but the McLaren driver fended him off through the first sector, as Verstappen also got past Alonso and was let through by team-mate Tsunoda into Turn Four.
Verstappen stayed within one second of Norris during the opening five laps but was not able to make an overtake despite having DRS as overtaking proved very difficult at the high-speed Lusail International Circuit, so the top five remained in the same positions after the first lap until the chequered flag.
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Red Bull’s Max Verstappen warns bouncing remains a big problem after finishing fourth in the Sprint, which hindered his ability to follow the McLaren drivers
Norris said: “I never saw him (Max) actually, I just saw George ahead. I tried to go forwards. We got pretty close at the start, but it was good.
“I didn’t see what happened behind. Long stint, it felt like a lot of pushing, so it’s going to be a tough race tomorrow.”
Sky Sports F1’s Qatar GP schedule
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Look back at some of the most dramatic moments to have taken place at the Qatar Grand Prix
Saturday November 29
5.15pm: Qatar GP Qualifying build-up
6pm: QATAR GP QUALIFYING
8pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook
Sunday November 30
11.55am: F2 Feature
2.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Qatar GP build-up
4pm: THE QATAR GRAND PRIX
6pm: Chequered Flag: Qatar GP reaction
7pm: Ted’s Notebook
*also on Sky Sports Main Event
Formula 1’s season-ending triple header continues with the Qatar Grand Prix Sprint weekend live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
