Oscar Piastri continued his title-race fightback at the Qatar Grand Prix by beating championship leader Lando Norris to pole position.
Having won the Sprint at the Lusail International Circuit from the front of the grid earlier on Saturday to reduce Norris’ title lead to 22 points, Piastri edged out his McLaren team-mate to secure pole for the penultimate race of the season on Sunday, live on Sky Sports F1 at 4pm.
Max Verstappen, who also retains a chance of winning the drivers’ title from his position 25 points back from Norris, was third for Red Bull behind the McLarens.
Norris led Piastri after the first runs in Q3 but aborted his second attempt following an early error, leaving the door open for the Australian to take pole by just over a tenth of a second with a time of 1:19.387.
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Watch as Oscar Piastri claims a stunning pole for the Qatar GP
Piastri said: “We left the car pretty much the same. Everything felt great all weekend. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”
Norris can become world champion with a race to spare if he is 26 points, or more, ahead of Piastri and 25 points in front of Verstappen after Sunday’s race. That means he must gain four points on Piastri and effectively finish ahead of Verstappen.
“I just had a bit of understeer and was going to go off so I had to abort, which was a shame, but it’s the way that it is,” said Norris, who finished third in the Sprint earlier on Saturday.
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Karun Chandhok analyses why Lando Norris abandoned his final push lap in qualifying of the Qatar GP
“Oscar did a good lap, drove very well and has been driving well all weekend. Nothing to complain about, just didn’t do the lap, and still P2 for tomorrow.”
George Russell almost pushed Verstappen down to fourth but came up 11 hundredths of a second short of the Dutchman as he took fourth in front of his Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli.
Lewis Hamilton’s woeful weekend continued as the seven-time world champion qualified 18th as he was knocked out in Q1. Hamilton was 18th in Sprint Qualifying on Friday, and was also knocked out in Q1 last weekend in Las Vegas.
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Lewis Hamilton has had another qualifying disaster at the Qatar Grand Prix, being eliminated in Q1 for the second time
His Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc also lacked pace but battled through to Q3 before ending up 10th after a spin in the final part of the session.
Isack Hadjar took sixth for Racing Bulls ahead of Williams’ Carlos Sainz, while Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly also finished ahead of Leclerc.
Smooth Piastri betters nervy Norris
Piastri arrived in Qatar on a poor run of form that saw him go from leading the championship by 34 points after the Dutch Grand Prix in August to only having what he described as an “outside shot” at the title going into the final two rounds.
There was hope he could rediscover his form at a circuit where he has fared well in the past, but Norris’ superb recent run ensured he was likely to need his best to return to contention.
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Piastri and Norris give their reaction after securing a front-row lockout for McLaren in Qatar
Piastri found that in the Sprint as he outpaced Norris over one lap for the first time in seven (Sprint and full-length) qualifying sessions and backed that up by cruising to victory in the 19-lap contest.
Norris survived a scare in Q2 as a blunder on his first attempt left him needing to deliver under pressure to advance, which he was able to do as Piastri eased through.
The Brit then appeared to be bouncing back when he edged Piastri by 0.035 seconds on the first runs of Q3, but as was the case in Sprint Qualifying a day earlier, he was unable to execute cleanly on his second attempt.
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Watch the bizarre moment during Qatar Q3 where Carlos Sainz’s Williams car was released from the pit lane with a plastic sticker wrapped around one of its tyres
Piastri put together a clean lap to go clear, claiming a crucial pole position that gives him a huge opportunity to take the title battle to the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi next weekend.
There is an added twist to Sunday’s race with a one-off rule in place limiting usage of each tyre set to 25 laps, which will force the entire field into making at least two pit stops each, barring red-flag interruptions.
Piastri added: “With the two stops tomorrow, we will be pushing hard the whole time. It will be a tough race. Hard work but incredibly fun.”
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
Sunday November 30
11.55am: F2 Feature Race
2.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Qatar GP build-up
4pm: THE QATAR GRAND PRIX
6pm: Chequered Flag: Qatar GP reaction
7pm: Ted’s Notebook
Formula 1’s thrilling title race continues with the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday at 4pm (build-up from 2.30pm, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
