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Oscar Piastri’s sensational run in Qatar shows no signs of slowing down as the McLaren star backed up his sprint race triumph with a commanding pole position for Sunday’s Grand Prix. After delivering a flawless performance in Saturday’s sprint, the Australian driver is now perfectly placed to convert his momentum into another major result at the Lusail International Circuit.
A weekend of dominance for the Australian star
Piastri has been in unstoppable form all weekend. After converting his sprint pole into a dominant victory on Saturday — crossing the line nearly five seconds ahead of George Russell — he continued to demonstrate incredible pace in qualifying for the main event.
His sprint win marked his first race triumph in any format since August’s Dutch Grand Prix, a breakthrough that has reignited his push for the world championship. Oscar Piastri also closed the gap to standings leader Lando Norris to just 22 points after the Briton finished third in the sprint ahead of Max Verstappen.
With two rounds remaining after Qatar, every point is now critical. Verstappen’s hopes of securing a fifth-straight crown have narrowed, with the gap between him and Norris sitting at 25 points heading into Sunday’s race.
McLaren let their drivers fight — and Oscar Piastri responds
McLaren confirmed ahead of the Qatar weekend that both Piastri and Norris would be allowed to battle freely for the championship as long as it remains mathematically possible for either to win the title. The Australian answered that declaration emphatically with another statement performance.
All three of Oscar Piastri’s career sprint wins have now come at Lusail, reinforcing his reputation as a specialist in Middle Eastern races. In fact, he has won the last two full-distance races held in the region — in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia — making Qatar yet another proving ground for his rising dominance.
A mixed bag for the chasing pack
Behind the McLaren duo, the field once again saw tight battles and unexpected results. Yuki Tsunoda inherited fifth place in the sprint after Kimi Antonelli received a five-second penalty for exceeding track limits, while Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz rounded out the top eight.
For Ferrari, however, the struggles continued, with Charles Leclerc finishing 13th and Lewis Hamilton 17th in the sprint — a disappointing outcome for the iconic team on a crucial weekend.
With pole position secured and momentum firmly on his side, Oscar Piastri enters Sunday’s race as the clear favorite.
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