Australia driver wins sprint race, claims pole for Qatar Grand Prix

Mercedes driver George Russell was fourth and his teammate Kimi Antonelli fifth, with Charles Leclerc qualifying 10th on another disappointing day for Ferrari.

Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari woes continued when he was knocked out in the first part of qualifying for the second straight race after qualifying last at the Las Vegas GP.

Piastri gains ground

Earlier on Saturday in Qatar, Piastri won the sprint race from pole.

Piastri’s sprint win gave him eight points, with seven going to Russell in second place. Norris took six points for his third-place finish, and Verstappen got five for finishing fourth.

Norris started the sprint from third on the grid and Verstappen from sixth. The Dutchman was let through by his Red Bull teammate Yuki Tsunoda on the first lap, but could not get close enough to pressure Norris.

Verstappen complained of bouncing and understeer on his Red Bull on Friday, and the problems persisted.

“The bouncing’s still very bad,” Verstappen said four laps into Saturday’s sprint.

Verstappen has won the last two races in Qatar and four of the previous five in Abu Dhabi.

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Piastri has not won since the final day of August at the Dutch GP, and the Australian has no podiums in the past six races, excluding Saturday’s sprint.

Verstappen’s title chances increased after the disqualification of both McLaren drivers following last Sunday’s Las Vegas GP, which Verstappen won.

Race strategy in Qatar will be harder to impose given that teams have two mandatory pit stops, a measure imposed on safety grounds due to a high risk of tyre degradation at the 5.4-kilometer (3.3-mile) Lusail International Circuit.

Pirelli tyres are restricted to a maximum of 25 laps in the 57-lap race, which features high-speed corners.

“It will be pretty tough,” Piastri said. “With the two stops, we’re going to be pushing pretty hard the whole time.”

AP