Qatar GP Sprint: Piastri wins, Russell & Norris complete podium
F1 NewsSaturday, 29 November 2025 at 15:32
Oscar Piastri won the final Sprint race in the 2025 Formula 1 season from pole as George Russell followed him home in second with Lando Norris third. Max Verstappen was fourth.
Piastri followed up his strong performance in Sprint Qualifying with a great start and drive in the Sprint to take the win and bag eight points.
The Australian kept the lead as Russell also managed to keep second after a close call with Norris who was fighting him for position while Fernando Alonso who was starting from fourth had a bad start and was passed by Yuki Tsunoda who launched well and pushed the Spaniard opening the way for Max Verstappen who over took the Aston Martin.
From there, Tsunoda made way for his teammate who set on chasing Norris for third, but after a handful of laps, the Dutchman dropped back from Lap 8 onwards and had to settle for fourth.
From there onwards, the much hailed Sprint Race turned into a mundane procession with noting worth noting other than Alonso's wide moment in Turn 16 on Lap 13 which allowed Kimi Antonelli to pass him for sixth.
Tsunoda was fifth at the flag but was given a five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits over four times which was meant he would lose his place to Antonelli, but the Italian committed the same error himself and was given the same penalty which meant the Japanese driver kept his place.
Alonso finished in seventh, as Carlos Sainz - who lost a piece of his car during the race - took the final point in eighth.
After his horrible Sprint Qualifying, and after starting from the pitlane, Hamilton finished 17th as his teammate, Charles Leclerc dropped from ninth at the start and ended up in 13th.
And while Ferrari would've hoped to improve the car by changing the setup and starting Hamilton from the pitlane; he delivered a damning verdict over the radio on his cool-down lap, saying:"I don't know how we made the car worse."
With Verstappen losing out to Norris in the Drivers' Championship, the Briton now has a chance to seal his maiden F1 Title tomorrow if he wins the Grand Prix.
What the top three said
A rejuvenated Piastri said after the Sprint: “It’s been a good weekend so far. Everything went smoothly in the Sprint there, so I’m happy with how it’s been so far and just need to keep it rolling.
“It’s obviously a very different circuit to where we have been, much higher speed, much higher grip, but I think the last couple of weekends has just been things going wrong rather than a lack of pace.
“Here, everything’s gone smoothly so far, and the pace has been strong. It’s a track I’ve enjoyed in the past, and I’m enjoying it again, clearly," he maintained.
As to how he and McLaren plan to tackle the rest of the weekend; the Aussie said: "Ideally if we can find more pace [that is the best approach].
"I think everyone slowly finds a little bit more through Sprint weekends, so you've got to try and get every bit out of the car you can.
"We will try to do that but our base performance seems pretty strong around here so it's more just tuning than trying to reinvent the wheel," Piastri concluded.
Second-placed Russell commented: "It was a good race, good to get P2. We obviously know these [McLaren] guys are really quick but those last two laps were a real struggle.
"This track is so quick, one of the most fun tracks to drive, and it's brutal on the tyres and the cars. Glad to bring it home," he added.
As for Norris, who managed to keep Verstappen at bay; he joked: “I never saw him (Max) actually, I just saw George ahead. I tried to go forwards. We got pretty close at the start, but it was good.
“I didn’t see what happened behind. Long stint, it felt like a lot of pushing, so it’s going to be a tough race tomorrow.
“It’s not easy to pass around here, it’s too difficult, so it’s all about qualifying," he pointed out.
However, the Championship leader is wary of the threat of Russell in the Mercedes; he continued: “George was almost on pole.
"He’s showing that the Mercedes is quick and he’s doing a very good job, so I think it will be close. I don’t think it’s going to be an easy one.
“The team have also given us a very good car once again, as they always do this year. It’s been quick. It’s a hell of a lap around here in qualifying, so I’m looking forward to it," Norris concluded.
Qatar GP Sprint Race Provisional Classification
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