Perfect Saturday for Oscar Piastri after F1 Qatar sprint victory keeps title hope alive
The Australian driver took a vital victory to reduce his championship deficit to just 22 points with two races remaining.
DOHA, Qatar–Oscar Piastri took a lights-to-flag victory in the Formula One sprint race at the Qatar Grand Prix, keeping his championship hopes alive in the battle with teammate Lando Norris.
Piastri went even better in qualifying, taking pole position for the Grand Prix with a new lap record, set to start Sunday's race ahead of rivals Lando Norris and Max Verstappen.
The Australian led all 19 laps from pole to take his first sprint race win of the year, having never been seriously challenged. It was his third consecutive sprint win in Qatar, having also triumphed here in 2023 and 2024.
"It's been a good weekend so far," said Piastri.
"I think everything went smoothly in the sprint there, so yeah, happy with how it's been so far. Just need to keep it rolling.
"It's obviously a very different circuit to where we have been. Much higher speeds, much higher grip. I think the last couple of weekends it's just been things going wrong rather than a lack of pace, so to speak. So, I think here, everything’s going smoothly so far and the pace has been strong. So yeah, it's a track I've enjoyed in the past, so enjoying it again, clearly."
It was the Mercedes of George Russell which gave Piastri the most hope in the title fight, after he held off Norris for second place and allowed the Australian to slightly eat away at the points deficit to his teammate.
Norris completed the podium as his other rival Max Verstappen recovered from sixth on the grid to a fourth-place finish, slightly helped by his Red Bull teammate Yuki Tsunoda who willing ceded his position early in the race.
Piastri is now on 374 points, just 22 points behind his teammate with two races left to decide the championship.
Verstappen is third on 371, not losing too much ground with the reduced points on offer in the sprint.
The Australian maintained his place as the fastest car on track on Saturday with a blistering final run in qualifying, taking pole with a lap of 1:19.387.
The three contenders will line up in the top three on the grid on Sunday, with the Mercedes duo of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli hoping to challenge the pack and potentially spice up the championship fight from fourth and fifth.
The Formula 1 Qatar Airways Qatar Grand Prix is underway at 3.00am Monday (AEDT).
