LUSAIL CITY, QATAR – NOVEMBER 28: Sprint Pole qualifier Oscar Piastri of Australia and McLaren arrives in parc ferme during Sprint Qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Qatar at Lusail International Circuit on November 28, 2025 in Lusail City, Qatar. (Photo by Mark Sutton – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)
Formula 1 via Getty Images
Oscar Piastri secured pole position for Saturday’s sprint race at the 2025 Qatar Grand Prix in Lusail.
The McLaren driver topped the timesheets with a new track record of 1m 20.055s, edging out George Russell of Mercedes by just three hundredths of a second.
This is the first time the Aussie has gone fastest in a competitive session since the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort back in August, giving him a needed confidence boost as he aims to stay in the title chase.
Meanwhile current championship leader Lando Norris took third place in the other McLaren, finishing two-tenths back after running wide at the final corner on his second lap.
Fernando Alonso put in a strong showing to secure his and Aston Martin’s best starting position of the season in P4.
Yuki Tsunoda grabbed fifth place, outqualifying his Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen who settled for sixth after struggling with porpoising.
Further down, Andrea Kimi Antonelli took seventh for Mercedes, right ahead of Carlos Sainz of Williams. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc could only manage ninth place, with Alexander Albon rounding out the top 10 in the other Williams.
Elsewhere, Lewis Hamilton was knocked out in the first segment of qualifying, setting the 18th fastest time for the Scuderia.
The sprint race offers eight points to the winner, with points decreasing by one for each subsequent position.
Norris, who currently holds a 24-point lead over Piastri and Verstappen, has a chance to secure a maiden title on Sunday if he manages to leave Qatar with at least a 26-point advantage over both title contenders – meaning outscoring them by two points or more across the weekend.
If either Piastri or Verstappen manages to stay within 25 points of Norris after Qatar, the championship will go down to the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
2025 Qatar Grand Prix Sprint – Starting Grid
Here’s the starting order for the final sprint of the season at Lusail:
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren): 1:20.055
- George Russell (Mercedes): +0.032
- Lando Norris (McLaren): +0.230
- Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin): +0.395
- Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull): +0.464
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull): +0.473
- Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes): +0.477
- Carlos Sainz (Williams): +0.487
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari): +0.567
- Alexander Albon (Williams): +0.733
- Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)
- Oliver Bearman (Haas)
- Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber)
- Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)
- Esteban Ocon (Haas)
- Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
- Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
- Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
- Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
- Franco Colapinto (Alpine)
The Qatar Grand Prix sprint starts at 5 p.m. local time (9 a.m. EST, 2 p.m. U.K. time) on Saturday, November 29.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/yaraelshebiny/2025/11/28/starting-grid-for-the-2025-f1-qatar-grand-prix-sprint/
