Australian formula one driver Oscar Piastri of the McLaren Team drives during the qualifying session at the Lusail International Circuit ahead of the Formula One Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday. David Davies/PA Wire/dpaDPASat, November 29, 2025 at 7:56 PM UTC·2 min readOscar Piastri continued a perfect weekend in Qatar when he claimed pole position for Sunday's grand prix in track record time and further mounted the pressure on MacLaren team-mate Lando Norris in the Formula One title race.
A few hours after winning the sprint race, Piastri claimed what could be a crucial first place on the grid ahead of Norris and defending champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull who is also in title contention.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe promises at least an exciting start on the Lusail International Circuit where overtaking is notoriously difficult.
Norris led the way in the final session but a small mistake did not allow any improvement on last flying lap. Piastri seized the moment to post 1 minute 19.387 seconds for the third track record of the night, beating Norris by .108 of a second and Verstappen by .264.
Piastri had earlier won the sprint race in Lusail for the third time in a row ahead of Mercedes driver George Russell, Norris and Verstappen.
Norris dropped two points on Piastri while gaining one on Verstappen. He is 22 points ahead of Piastri and 25 in front of Verstappen.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThere are still 50 points up for grabs from Sunday's Grand Prix and the season-ender in Abu Dhabi where there is no sprint.
With 25 points for a victory and 18 for second, Norris will clinch the title on Sunday without the help of others if he wins. If he doesn't he would need four points more than Piastri and not finish behind Verstappen to succeed with one race to spare.
Piastri has been impeccable all weekend after some difficult months during which he lost the championship lead to Norris again. He has topped every session in Lusail and will hope to take the title race to the wire.
It was another difficult day for Ferrari, with Charles Leclerc coming 13th in the sprint and placing 10th in qualifying where he also overcame a scary high-speed spin in Q3. Lewis Hamilton came third last 18th in the sprint and in qualifying.
British Formula One driver Lando Norris of team McLaren drives during the qualifying session at the Lusail International Circuit ahead of the Formula One Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday. David Davies/PA Wire/dpaAdvertisementAdvertisement
