Oscar Piastri seized his second opportunity in Qatar. After his victory in the sprint race earlier in the day, he also triumphed in the qualifying round for the main event. World Championship leader Lando Norris will be next to him on the grid, with Max Verstappen starting from the third position.
Q1: Hamilton’s Struggles Continue
Oscar Piastri – winner of the sprint race earlier in the day – initially sets the pace in the qualifying round for the main event. However, as the session progresses, the names at the top of the leaderboard change almost every minute. Isack Hadjar is the first to beat Piastri’s time, but the Frenchman is quickly overtaken by Max Verstappen. With five minutes left on the clock, Lando Norris opens a significant gap with the world champion. The Brit is nearly 0.4 seconds faster. Piastri, however, stays close to his teammate (+0.077). In the final minute, George Russell shows that he should be taken into account again: he positions himself ahead of both McLarens. Verstappen finishes in P4, while Lewis Hamilton has to swallow the bitter pill. He doesn’t get further than the eighteenth place. Liam Lawson makes it into the top-6. A stroke of luck for the New Zealander, who is fighting for his life at Racing Bulls. Yuki Tsunoda, on the other hand, does not improve his chances of a longer stay at Red Bull: the Japanese driver is out after the first elimination.
Eliminated: Yuki Tsunoda, Esteban Ocon, Lewis Hamilton, Lance Stroll, and Franco Colapinto.
Q2: Norris Narrowly Escapes Elimination
Verstappen is one of the first drivers to hit the track and immediately sets a benchmark. His time is 0.3 seconds faster than in Q1. However, this quickly proves to be of little value. Piastri significantly improves his time, beating the Dutchman by half a second. Norris, his teammate, suffers a setback: his first qualifying time is scrapped because he exceeded track limits. He corrects this in the final minute and narrowly avoids elimination, although the gap to Piastri is substantial. Notable names in the top-10 include Hadjar and Pierre Gasly. Charles Leclerc just manages to push his Ferrari into the final session with a P9 finish.
Eliminated drivers: Nico Hülkenberg, Liam Lawson, Oliver Bearman, Gabriel Bortoleto, and Alex Albon.
Q3: Piastri Strikes Again
After the initial qualifying rounds, it’s clear that the McLarens will be battling it out for pole position. Norris clocks a time of 1:19.445, with Piastri just 0.035 seconds behind. Russell and Verstappen trail at a respectful distance, while Leclerc has a significant off-track moment at high speed but escapes unscathed. Therefore, it all comes down to the final minutes. Russell is the first to head out, followed by Norris. The Brit fails to improve his time, but Piastri does. He takes pole position, with Verstappen settling into third place.
