Oscar Piastri secures pole position at Qatar GP: Details here
What's the story
Oscar Piastri has snatched the pole position for the Qatar Grand Prix from his McLaren teammate and title rival Lando Norris. The Australian driver outpaced Norris by a margin of 0.108 seconds after the latter aborted his final lap. This has handed Piastri a strong chance to win the race and take the title fight to Abu Dhabi next weekend in the 2025 Formula 1 season. Here's more.
Championship dynamics
Verstappen's role in title race
Red Bull's Max Verstappen, another title contender, will start third on the grid. The Dutchman needs to finish ahead of Norris to keep his championship hopes alive. This makes the upcoming race even more crucial as it could decide the fate of both Norris and Verstappen in their respective title battles.
Norris
Piastri claimed Qatar GP sprint race win
Earlier on Saturday, Piastri cut McLaren team-mate Norris' championship lead by two points with victory in the sprint race at the Qatar Grand Prix. Piastri gained big time as Norris trailed home behind Mercedes' George Russell as the top three finished in the order in which they started. Red Bull's Verstappen moved up from sixth on the grid to finish fourth. He ended up losing one point to Norris in the championship.
Information
A look at the standings after the sprint race
Norris has 396 points under his belt and leads the 2025 F1 Drivers Standings. He is followed by Piastri, who has raced to 374 points, having gained 8 points by winning the sprint race. Meanwhile, Verstappen is three points behind Piastri (371).