Piastri wins Qatar Sprint, leaves Norris on edge; Bortoletto is in 11th place

In a calm race, without overtakes or major accidents, Oscar Piastri He took advantage of being left in first place and won the final sprint race of the season, on Saturday, in Qatar GBthe penultimate stage of the 2025 championship. His McLaren teammate reached third place behind him George Russell And in front of Max Verstappenwho is also competing for Penta.

With the result, the Australian moved two points closer to leader Lando Norris in the world drivers’ title race – 396 to 374 – and remains 22 points behind on the leaderboard. Verstappen, who complained a lot about the car, came in third place with 371.

Gabriel Bortoletto, who started 13th, gained two positions after the start and finished 11th, far behind the top eight points-scoring figures in Sunday’s race test, but ahead of Sauber teammate Nico Hülkenberg in 16th.

Pole, Piastri remained at the top after the start at Losail Circuit, followed by Russell and Norris. Verstappen, who started sixth, gained two positions and jumped to fourth, putting pressure on the leaders. Brazilian Gabriel Bortoletto, 13th on the grid, also started well and moved to 11th place in search of a scoring zone among the top eight.

On a difficult overtaking circuit, Verstappen put his Red Bull on the heels of world title contender Norris, by less than one second. In the lead, Piastri was trying to gain the advantage, and after the first five of the scheduled 19 laps, he had a 1s5 lead over Russell’s Mercedes.

Because they are careful on the track, in order to preserve their cars, drivers rarely attack their opponents directly in front of them, despite their proximity. Thus, after ten laps, Piastri maintained the lead, followed by Russell, Norris, Verstappen and Tsunoda. Bortoletto was trying to close in on Albon in the fight for tenth place.

With the exception of Tsunoda’s penalty and Lance Stroll’s stop, the race continued until the end without much emotion. With almost a 5 second advantage, Piastri won the race without any fear, leaving Norris and Verstappen with the caution flag for the main race.

Drivers return to the track at 3pm (Brasilia time) for qualifying practice which determines the starting grid for the regular race scheduled for Sunday at 1pm.

Find out the results of the Qatar GP Sprint race:

1. Oscar Piastri (Australia/McLaren) 26 minutes 51 seconds 033 minutes
2. George Russell (ING/Mercedes) with a lead of 4.951
3. Lando Norris (ING/McLaren) by 6s 279
4. Max Verstappen (Dutch/Red Bull) with a difference of 9.054
5. Yuki Tsunoda (Japan/Red Bull), 19.327 seconds behind
6. Andrea Kimi Antonelli (ITA/Mercedes), 21s391
7. Fernando Alonso (Spain/Aston Martin) with a difference of 24.556 seconds
8. Carlos Sainz Jr. (Spain/Williams) by 27s.333s
9. Isaac Hajjar (FRA/RB) at 28s206
10. Alexander Albon (Thailand/Williams) at 28s925
11. Gabriel Bortoletto (Brazil/Sauber) 32s966
12. Oliver Berman (England/Haas) at 34s529
13. Charles Leclerc (Moon/Ferrari) 35 seconds 182
14. Liam Lawson (NZ/RB) with 36.916
15. Esteban Ocon (FRA/Haas) 38 seconds 838
16. Nico Hulkenberg (ALE/Sauber) 39 seconds ahead 638
17. Lewis Hamilton (England/Ferrari) 46 seconds 171
18. Pierre Gasly (France/Alps) with a time of 1 minute, 09 seconds and 534 minutes
19. Lance Stroll (Canada/Aston Martin) 1 minute 17 seconds 960 minutes
20. Franco Colapinto (Argentina/Alps) with a time of 1 minute, 20 seconds and 804 minutes.