Qatar Grand Prix F1 Qualifying, Highlights: Piastri And Norris Take Front Row; Verstappen Finishes 3rd In Q3

A very warm welcome to all our readers joining us from around the world for the live coverage of the Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix 2025 Sprint qualifying ahead of the main race tomorrow at the Losail International circuit. Stay tuned for the build-up and all the live updates.

Oscar Piastri edged past George Russell and Lando Norris to finish 1st in the Sprint qualifying race earlier today. Max Verstappen had a 4th place finish and his teammate Yuki Tsunoda finished right below him.

1. Oscar Piastri: 8 points

2. Lando Norris: 6 points

3. George Russell: 7 points

4. Max Verstappen: 5 points

5. Yuki Tsunoda: 4 points

6. Kimi Antonelli: 3 points

7. Fernando Alonso: 2 points

8. Carlos Sainz: 1 point

Lando Norris - 396 points

Oscar Piastri - 374 points

Max Verstappen - 371 points

George Russell - 301 points

Charles Leclerc - 226 points

Lewis Hamilton - 152 points

Kimi Antonelli - 140 points

Alexander Albon - 73 points

Isack Hadjar - 51 points

Nico Hulkenberg - 49 points

Only few minutes left before qualifying roars to life in Qatar! The tension is building in the paddock, drivers locking in their final prep, engineers making last-second tweaks. A massive session awaits, every lap, every sector, every millisecond will matter. Buckle up, it's almost showtime!

The lights go green and chaos erupts instantly in the pit lane as every team rushes to release their drivers. A long queue forms all the way to the exit, with mechanics waving their cars through as they fight for early track position. Everyone wants clean air on this tight circuit, and the pressure is already sky-high with tyres warming and engines screaming. The session is properly underway.

As the session intensifies, the positions are highly dynamic. Lando Norris jumps ahead of Isack Hadjar with a quick lap. The times tumble further: Piastri is now P2, and Verstappen P3. However, Yuki Tsunoda, who qualified well yesterday, finds himself struggling in the bottom five.

Were you ready for this? Lewis Hamilton has been eliminated in Q1. He was in P6 just a while ago, but fell down to the drop zone very quickly. yuki Tsunoda and Lance Stroll are also out.

16. Yuki Tsunoda: +0.687

17. Esteban Ocon: +0.790

18. Lewis Hamilton: +0.833

19. Lance Stroll: +0.984

20. Franco Colapinto: +1.063

The lights are green for Q2, prompting another traffic jam at the pit exit. Albon leads the charge but he has an investigation hanging over him for an alleged pit lane queue violation before Q1.

Oscar Piastri is the man to catch, leading with a time of 1:19.650s. But the pressure is on his McLaren teammate, Lando Norris, whose P3 lap time was deleted for a Turn 10 infringement.

11. Charles Leclerc

12. Nico Hulkenberg

13. Gabriel Bortoleto

14. George Russell

15. Lando Norris

Superb driving Lando Norris as he escapes elimination from Q2 and so did Charles Leclerc. Here are the ones who are out.

11. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)

12. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)

13. Oliver Bearman (Haas)

14. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber)

15. Alex Albon (Williams)

Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen, Kimi Antonelli, George Russell, Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz, Pierre Gasly, Charles Leclerc and Isack Hadjer will compete in the top 10 shootout up next.

Lando Norris goes the quickest. He is P1 provisionally as he goes faster than teammate Oscar Piastri, who is 0.035 seconds behind

The session was stopped temporarily. The interruption was likely triggered by plastic debris shed from Carlos Sainz's car upon exiting the garage, or by gravel scattered from Charles Leclerc's earlier spin, but it was brief.

FIA stewards confirm the situation will be investigated after the session.

A sensational final lap sees Oscar Piastri take pole position at the Qatar Grand Prix 2025. Norris gets his 2nd pole of the weekend as he sees off Lando Norris by a tenth. He will start on pole position tomorrow in the main race.

"Let's go baby. Good session everyone. That was mega. Thanks everyone." - Piastri chatters on the radio.

McLaren secured an all-front-row lockout for tomorrow, with Piastri taking pole ahead of Norris. The second row will be shared by Verstappen and Russell, followed by Antonelli and Hadjar on the third.

1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - 1:19.387

2. Lando Norris (McLaren)

3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

4. George Russell (Mercedes)

5. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)

6. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)

7. Carlos Sainz (Williams)

8. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

9. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

10. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

11. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)

12. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)

13. Oliver Bearman (Haas)

14. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber)

15. Alex Albon (Williams)

16. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull)

17. Esteban Ocon (Haas)

18. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)

19. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

20. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)

So that's it for today's Qatar Grand Prix 2025 qualification coverage, hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. See you on the main race. Goodbye and Goodnight for now.