Oscar Piastri came out on top in both the sprint race and qualifying for the 2025 Qatar Grand Prix.

A high-intensity Saturday at the 2025 Qatar Grand Prix opened with a frenetic 19-lap sprint race, as all 20 drivers pushed to the limit from lights out to chequered flag.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri lined up on pole after topping Friday night’s qualifying, and he converted it into a commanding lights-to-flag performance. Mercedes’ George Russell wobbled off the start but steadied himself quickly to retain second, keeping just ahead of Piastri’s teammate, championship leader Lando Norris.

Defending champion Max Verstappen, hampered by a difficult qualifying that left him sixth on the grid, clawed back two places to finish fourth. His Red Bull teammate Yuki Tsunoda and Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli were both handed five-second penalties for repeated track-limits breaches, yet each did enough on track to hold on to fifth and sixth respectively.

Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz rounded out the points-paying positions, while Ferrari’s troubles deepened as Charles Leclerc slipped to 13th and Lewis Hamilton came home a distant 17th.

The seven-time world champion’s day went from bad to worse when he was knocked out in the first phase of qualifying, leaving him to start 18th once again, just as he did in the sprint. Tsunoda endured his own setback, bowing out in Q1.

Leclerc scraped through Q2 by a margin of just 10 milliseconds, only to face an even bigger scare in the final segment when he lost control and spun. The Monegasque escaped without significant damage, but could manage no better than 10th.

Lap records tumbled at the front as the two McLarens pushed each other to the limit, with Russell and Verstappen piling on further pressure. Norris went eight-tenths of a second quicker than the previous record in his first attempt at pole position, but he made a mistake on the second time of asking. That left the door open for Piastri, who improved by a tenth to clinch his second pole position in two days.

Verstappen and Russell filled out the second row of the grid with Antonelli behind them, while Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar came in at a very impressive 6th place. Williams’ Carlos Sainz and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso rounded out the top eight.

Norris will have the opportunity to claim his maiden world title if he wins or outscores his teammate by at least three points in Sunday’s race. Otherwise, the championship battle will rage on to the final round in Abu Dhabi.