Fightback on as Oscar Piastri takes pole in Qatar, wins sprint race
Oscar Piastri has kept his drivers’ championship dream alive with a stunning day out in Qatar as he looks to force a decider in the season finale.
Oscar Piastri has begun his fightback on the F1 drivers’ championship at the Lusail International Circuit, backing up a crushing Sprint race victory by storming to pole position for the Qatar Grand Prix.
The Melbourne-born star clocked a blistering lap of 1 minute 19.387 seconds under the lights, edging out his McLaren teammate and championship leader Lando Norris by just over a tenth of a second while smashing his own lap record at the track.
It completed a flawless day for the 24-year-old, but more importantly, it serves as a lifeline in his bid for a maiden Formula 1 world title in a season which he dominated for months.
However amid a form slump, Piastri’s pole position in Qatar is the first time he’s locked up first place on the grid since August.
“Everything felt great all weekend, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, team did a great job,” Piastri said.
“(The race on Monday will be) pretty tough, with a few stops as well, we’re probably going to be pushing pretty hard the whole time, you’re pulling an insane amount of G force around here and multiple times a lap.”
QUALIFYING CLASSIFICATION
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Piastri storms to his sixth pole of the season #F1#QatarGPpic.twitter.com/vwslFfKsH0
The gravity of his pole position in Qatar cannot be overstated.
Following his Sprint victory earlier in the day, Piastri narrowed the championship deficit to 22 points.
However, with only one round of racing remaining in Abu Dhabi after this weekend, the equation for Monday’s race is simple.
If Norris wins the Grand Prix on Monday morning (AEST), he will almost certainly be crowned World Champion, regardless of where Piastri finishes.
A Norris victory would extend the gap beyond the 26 points available in the final race, closing the door on the Australian’s title hopes.
By taking pole, Piastri has taken the only option available to him, he has denied Norris the prime starting slot and given himself the best possible chance to win the race and take the further 25 points on offer for top spot.
An extra point can be awarded to the driver with the fastest lap, if they finish in the top 10.
To force a final-round decider in Abu Dhabi, Piastri effectively needs to win on Sunday and hope Norris finishes as low as possible and therefore comes close to missing points entirely.
Earlier in the day, Piastri showed he has the race pace to back up his one-lap speed.
He turned the 19-lap Sprint into a procession, launching cleanly from pole to cover off Mercedes’ George Russell and never looking back.
He crossed the line nearly five seconds clear to claim the maximum eight points.
Crucially, he finished two spots ahead of Norris, who laboured to third.
That result sliced two points off the buffer, bringing the gap down to 22 and keeping the mathematical possibility alive.
The momentum carried into the night session. Piastri was once again the man to beat, locking out the front row for McLaren.
Max Verstappen, currently third in the standings and 25 points adrift, wrestled his Red Bull to third on the grid.
The Dutchman is the dark horse in this fight; if he can interfere with the McLarens, he could find a way to win his fifth drivers’ championship.
For Piastri, the mission is simple, he must win.
Anything less likely hands the trophy to his teammate.
Qualifying Top 10:
Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 1:19.387
Lando Norris (McLaren) – +0.108s
Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – +0.264s
George Russell (Mercedes) – +0.275s
Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) – +0.459s
Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) – +0.727s
Carlos Sainz (Williams) – +0.900s
Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) – +1.031s
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
Alex Albon (Williams)
Originally published as Fightback on as Oscar Piastri takes pole in Qatar, wins sprint race
‘Let’s go baby’: Piastri claims pole in Qatar after sprint race victory
