Norris third in Lusail, with Russell second on grid
Verstappen furious with car after qualifying sixth
Oscar Piastri took pole position for the sprint race at the Qatar Grand Prix. The McLaren driver beat the Mercedes of George Russell into second and, with Lando Norris in third, it was the result the Australian required for his world championship ambitions and means a chance to narrow the gap to the leader Norris. The other title contender, Max Verstappen, was furious with his Red Bull’s erratic performance and will start in sixth.
On the first hot runs in Q3 Piastri set the pace with a 1min 20.241sec lap, four-hundredths quicker than Norris. However Verstappen was complaining his car was suffering with bouncing through the corners, lacking the stability in the fast turns that had been a strength of the car and an issue he had also experienced in the only practice session. Going off wide on his first run he did not set a competitive time on his first run.
The track had rubbered in for the final laps and Verstappen was the first out. He did put in a clean lap but he was still struggling and the cars behind him were improving as the track ramped up, with his teammate Yuki Tsunoda outqualifying him in fifth.
