McLaren driver Oscar Piastri celebrates his victory following the sprint race at the Lusail International Circuit. Picture date: Saturday November 29, 2025. (Photo by David Davies/PA Images via Getty Images)
PA Images via Getty Images
Oscar Piastri secured a dominant victory in the final sprint race of the season at the Qatar Grand Prix to cut Lando Norris’ championship lead.
Starting from pole after setting a new track record, the McLaren driver led every moment of the 19-lap sprint on his way to securing his first win in any format since Zandvoort back in August. The Australian crossed the finish line 4.951 seconds ahead of George Russell of Mercedes.
Norris managed a third-place finish, while third title contender Max Verstappen could only climb from sixth to fourth for Red Bull.
Now the gap between Norris and second-placed Piastri in the standings has shrunk to 22 points, with Verstappen now 25 points adrift of the leader.
Norris will be crowned champion on Sunday if he manages to hold at least a 26-point lead over both Piastri and Verstappen after the race, while Verstappen must finish ahead of Norris to have any chance of winning a sixth consecutive world title at the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli took fifth place for Mercedes after Yuki Tsunoda in the other Red Bull received a five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits.
However the Italian was later handed a five-second penalty of his own, which pushed him back to sixth and allowed Tsunoda to reclaim fifth place.
Fernando Alonso secured seventh place for Aston Martin, while Carlos Sainz of Williams claimed the final point in eighth.
2025 Qatar Grand Prix Sprint Results
Here are the results for the sprint race in Lusail with penalties applied:
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
- George Russell (Mercedes): +4.951
- Lando Norris (McLaren): +6.279
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull): +9.054
- Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull): +19.327
- Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes): +21.391
- Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin): +24.556
- Carlos Sainz (Williams): +27.333
- Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls): +28.206
- Alexander Albon (Williams): +28.925
- Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber): +32.966
- Oliver Bearman (Haas): +34.529
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari): +35.182
- Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls): +36.916
- Esteban Ocon (Haas): +38.838
- Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber): +39.638
- Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari): +46.171
- Pierre Gasly (Alpine): +1:09.534
- Lance Stroll (Aston Martin): +1:17.960
- Franco Colapinto (Alpine): +1:20.804
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/yaraelshebiny/2025/11/29/2025-f1-qatar-grand-prix-sprint-results-piastri-cuts-norris-championship-lead-with-a-victory-at-lusail/
