Oscar Piastri is back on pole. After trading blows with his teammate throughout, a sensational final run saw Piastri set a new track record and claim his first grand prix pole since Zandvoort back in August. Afterwards, Piastri was both happy with his efforts and aware of the win or bust situation in which he currently finds himself. Failure to outperform his teammate on Sunday will mark the end of his title aspirations. That said, Piastri has done everything in his power to keep the championship alive.
On the other side of the garage, Lando Norris gave his teammate plenty to think about. That was until understeer at turn two forced him to abandon his final flying lap in Q3. Norris’ initial run was good enough for second, and the championship leader remained upbeat. Victory in tomorrow’s race will seal the title for Norris, but realistically, two podiums from the two remaining races will be enough.
Norris will be desperate for a good start tomorrow, seeing as how he will have Max Verstappen starting behind him. The reigning world champion struggled with uneven downshifts in Q1 but recovered to P3. Despite his best efforts, the Red Bull could not match the McLarens in the middle sector. With 25 separating him and Norris, Verstappen needs to finish ahead of him tomorrow in order to keep his title hopes alive.
Quick and consistent all weekend, George Russell briefly looked to be in with a shout of pole position. He may have been unable to match the McLarens, but with fourth place, Russell has a shot at the podium tomorrow. Kimi Antonelli underlined Mercedes’ ‘best of the rest’ status in fifth.
Isack Hadjar was one of the few runners to enter Q3 with two sets of soft tyres and duly secured a fine sixth ahead of Carlos Sainz, who suffered a brief scare in Q3 when a piece of plastic detached itself from his Williams and brought out the red flag. Fernando Alonso will start eighth ahead of a delighted Pierre Gasly, who dragged his Alpine to Q3 for the 10th time this season.
Ferrari’s struggles look set to continue as Charles Leclerc suffered a massive high-speed spin in Q3 and could only manage 10th. Leclerc was at a loss to explain the car’s lacklustre pace stating that he feels as though everything that can be extracted has.
Nico Hulkenberg missed out on Q3 but will start the race 11th ahead of Liam Lawson, Oliver Bearman, Gabriel Bortoleto and Alex Albon. However, Bortoleto will have to serve a five-place gird penalty, which he received for a first corner crash at the previous race in Las Vegas.
After securing a fine fifth in the sprint race, Yuki Tsunoda failed to get out of Q1 and qualified 16th ahead of Esteban Ocon and a disheartened Lewis Hamilton. After making yet more changes to the setup after a poor showing in the sprint, Hamilton was once again unable to string a clear lap together and could only manage 18th. Lance Stroll qualified 19th ahead of Franco Colapinto.
The FIA has ruled that no single set of tyres can complete more than 25 laps in Qatar, such is the strain the Lusail International Circuit puts on the tyres. With all teams committing to a minimum of two pitstops, the drivers will have no choice but to push throughout.
With the three title contenders at the front of the grid, tomorrow looks set to be a pivotal race that could see the crowning of a new world champion.
