Qatar GP Qualifying: Piastri beats Norris to pole, Verstappen third
F1 NewsSaturday, 29 November 2025 at 20:12
Oscar Piastri mugged Lando Norris in Qualifying for the 2025 Qatar Grand Prix and took pole position as McLaren locked out the front row with Max Verstappen delivering a valiant effort to got third fastest.
To be fair, Norris probably handed Piastri pole on a silver platter as the Briton messed up his final Q3 lap, running wide in Turn 2, and did not have time for another. He was on provisional pole prior to that.
But Piastri then went on a belter and ended up taking pole, his sixth this season and over his short Formula 1 career with a lap time of 1:19.387, over a tenth clear of Norris in second as Verstappen was third, 0.264s off the pace.
While Red Bull have certainly managed to improve the RB21 for their defending World Champion, what they did was not enough to battle the mighty McLarens as Verstappen was on the back foot all through Qualifying.
But then, at crunch time, Verstappen went all out with a lap in which he attempted to defy the laws of physics and was partially successful as he managed to close the gap to pole to under three tenths and making sure he will be breathing down the neck of Norris on Lap 1 of the Grand Prix on Sunday.
Behind the top three, George Russell came in fourth after flirting with the top positions earlier in Qualifying, but in the end did not have the firepower for more as his teammate Kimi Antonelli was a respectable fifth in the sister car.
Isack Hadjar qualified sixth fastest for Racing Bulls while his teammate, Liam Lawson was 12th in the sister car, the Frenchman, once again, proving why he will most probably be a Red Bull Racing drivers in 2026.
Carlos Sainz continued his strong form this weekend, and put his Williams in seventh place on a day when Alex Albon was only in 15th.
In eighth place came another overachieving Spaniard, Fernando Alonso, who also maintained his level after qualifying fourth for the Sprint Race, and managed to make the top ten in Qualifying when his teammate, Lance Stroll was out in Q1.
Pierre Gasly was a superb ninth in the hapless Alpine, once again showing his quality compared to Franco Colapinto who was dead last - yet he got a contract for 2026!!!
Then we come to Ferrari... What to say? Charles Leclerc dragged that lemon of a car into the top ten but could not manage more than tenth after also surviving a huge spin which could've out him in the hospital had he hit something, which thankfully did not happen thanks to the huge run-off areas of the Lusail International Circuit.
And it was not any better for Lewis Hamilton, as the seven-time F1 Champion found himself, for the second time in 24 hours out of a shootout at the first stage of elimination. He was classified 18th after being also compromised by traffic.
However, the Briton said his car was better than the time he set; he said: "The car felt a lot better, it just didn't reflect that in the times.
"The car felt good. Honestly, the car felt a lot better than it was in the rest of the weekend. We were looking ok and then we just didn't get the last lap."
What the top three said
After capping off the perfect Saturday in Qatar which saw him win the Sprint a few hours earlier; Piastri commented on his pole position.
"We left the car pretty much the same," Piastri said. "Everything felt great all weekend. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!
"The team did a great job. We had a question mark on which tyres to use because I did a quick lap on the used tyres in Q2, but Q3 was very good on the new tyres, so I'm very happy.
"With the two stops tomorrow, we will be pushing hard the whole time. It will be a tough race. Hard work but incredibly fun," he reckoned.
Norris reflected on his error in Q3; he said: "I don't know, 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.
"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.
"You never know," Norris responded when asked whether McLaren will have to fend off any threats, namely Verstappen. "The first couple of laps are always opportunities for everyone but after there I think it's probably going to be pretty straightforward for everyone too."
As for Verstappen, he admitted he was yet to be fully happy with his RB21; he said: "This Qualifying was a little bit better. We were still quite far off.
"I felt happier but still some limitations that don't allow us to push harder. But at least we are P3 and it creates better opportunities. We know it's quite hard to pass around here.
"Realistically, it's a bit tough this weekend. Just not what I wanted it to be so far, but we will see what we can do tomorrow," Verstappen concluded.
Needless to say, Lap 1 of the 2025 Qatar Grand Prix will be something to watch as the race will be an interesting affair given the tyre restrictions from Pirelli - 25 laps max per tyre set - which effectively means it will be a two-stopper.
Q1: Hamilton out again!
Under the floodlights on Saturday night, Qualifying began around the Lusail International Circuit with track temperatures at 26 degrees Celsius as air temperature was 21 degrees.
Sainz was the first driver in the queue formed in the pitlane as the drivers waited for the green light to kick off the session.
Sainz started a timed lap first and went fastest as Hulkenberg went second fastest but was dropped to third by Albon who had his lap deleted for breaching track limits at Turn 15. The same happened to Ocon.
The Bortoleto went fastest with Ocon behind him only for Bearman to put in a decent lap to jump to the top before Hadjar took that position from him.
Then the Ferraris started with Leclerc who was fifth as Alonso went to the top as Verstappen and the McLarens came along.
Verstappen went second fastest while Norris was fifth before Antonelli went fourth as Russell followed and went to the top. Then Piastri topped the order.
And soon the second round of laps began with drivers switching to new Soft tyres after used sets on the opening runs.
And then Verstappen reported that his engine was "jumping" on downshifts and braking, which is making the whole car "jump.
Russell, on the other hand, reported that his steering is feeling "a bit funny".
With Q1 over, Russell was the fastest with a lap time of 1:20.074, 0.083s faster than Norris in second as Piastri was third, 0.160s off the pace.
The rest of the top 15 were: Verstappen - Sainz - Lawson - Bearman - Leclerc - Antonelli - Alonso - Hadjar - Albon - Hulkenberg - Bortoleto - Gasly.
The came the eliminated drivers who were led by Tsunoda, 16th in the Red Bull and losing out to Gasly by 0.080s with Ocon behind him in 17th.
And for the second day in a row, Hamilton was out again, and in 18th place as his misery continued in Qatar. He was ahead of Lance Stroll in 19th as Franco Colapinto was 20th.
Q2: Leclerc barely makes Q3
The start of Q2 was delayed as marshals were working on clearing some gravel on the track due to drivers running wide.
With Q2 given the go ahead, the drivers started to make their way out on track, and with 12 minutes remaining, half of them remained in their garages.
Bearman went fastest first then Hulkenberg and Bortoleto went second and third only for Leclerc to slot in second.
After a prep lap, Verstappen went for an all out timed lap, and topped the timing screens with a 1:20.142s.
But as the session went past the ten-minute mark, all the drivers were out as Piastri started his first Q2 lap and Norris followed.
The Australian went fastest by a whopping half a second from Verstappen as Norris came short and was only third, but then his lap was deleted for going over track limits at Turn 10.
Leclerc then went for his lap and posted the tenth best time as Antonelli went to eighth as Russell came next and posted the third best time.
Order after first runs was: Piastri - Verstappen - Russell - Sainz - Hadjar - Hulkenberg - Alonso - Bearman - Gasly - Antonelli.
Bearman had a moment in the gravel trap while Leclerc just managed to hold his Ferrari as it snapped in Turn 6.
And with less than three minutes, it was time for the final runs in Q2, and with those done and dusted, Piastri remained on top with a 1:19.650, 0.211s ahead of Norris in second and 0.335s ahead of Verstappen in third.
The rest of the top ten were: Antonelli - Russell - Alonso - Sainz - Gasly - Leclerc - Hadjar.
Hulkenberg failed to make the cut this time and was 11th fastest, losing out to Hadjar by a painful 0.003s and was 0.080s ahead of Liam Lawson who was 12th fastest.
Bearman was 13th fastest in the Haas ahead of Bortoleto in 14th as Albon was 15th.
Q3: Norris flops when it mattered... Verstappen delivers but...
Even before the green light for Q3 was illuminated, Verstappen made his way out into the pitlane and waited at its exit looking to be the first driver on track.
A queue started to form behind the Dutchman all patiently waiting for that green light. Antonelli, Alonso, and Sainz stayed behind.
Verstappen went for a prep lap as Norris directly went for a timed lap with Piastri behind him also putting in his banker.
Norris went fastest and then Hadjar went second fastest as Piastri took that place, just 0.035s behind his teammate.
Then Verstappen started his lap and was over four tenths slower in third as Russell followed and took that position from him.
Antonelli then came in sixth as Alonso followed and took seventh. Leclerc had a huge moment in Turn 15 and went for a full spin and could not put in a banker.
It was Norris on provisional pole with the rest of the order being: Piastri - Russell - Verstappen - Hadjar - Antonelli - Alonso - Sainz - Gasly - Leclerc.
The session was then Red-flagged with almost five minutes remaining to remove a plastic sticker/wrap which Sainz deposited on the track after leaving his garage with it stuck to one of his tyres. He was investigated for unsafe release.
With less than four minutes remaining, the drivers rejoined the track for those crucial final runs of Q3 which will set the starting order of the top ten.
Norris, Russell, and Leclerc left first as the other drivers soon followed out and with less than two minutes remaining, all drivers started their laps.
Norris went for a flyer but made a mistake and had to abort and could not go for a second lap as Piastri went for his final lap.
Piastri went over one tenth second faster than Norris as Verstappen followed and was only third behind Norris.
Russell then came and posted the fourth best time with Antonelli fifth fastest ahead of Hadjar who was sixth for the Racing Bulls.
Sainz was seventh in the Williams ahead Alonso in eighth as Gasly was a superb ninth with Leclerc completing the top ten.
Qatar GP Qualifying Provisional Classification
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