Australian Oscar Piastri sets the first scent mark at the Qatar Grand Prix in Lusail at the start of the second-last weekend of the season. Piastri takes the top spot on the grid for Saturday's sprint race.
28.11.2025, 19:36
28.11.2025, 20:36
SDA
Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen must make up 24 points on championship leader Lando Norris in the last two Grands Prix. Piastri has already won the sprint twice before the Qatar GP. Norris will start the 19-lap blitz race from third place. George Russell (Mercedes) slipped between the two McLaren drivers.
Max Verstappen, on the other hand, is facing problems. His car bounced on the track. More than 6th place on the grid was not possible for Verstappen. Even teammate Yuki Tsunoda (5th) kept his nose ahead of Verstappen. Important: The cars remain in the "parc fermée" after the race. The Red Bull mechanics cannot change the non-optimal settings on Verstappen's cars before the sprint race. This is only possible again afterwards.
The Sauber team will compete under the familiar name for the second last time before being renamed "Audi" for next season. The two Kick Sauber drivers Gabriel Bortoleto (13th) and Nico Hülkenberg (14th) retired in the second part of qualifying. Hülkenberg drove to fourth place in Part 1 and also set personal best times on his last lap in "Q2" before completely failing to negotiate the last corner.
Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes experienced a debacle. The record-breaking world champion, who won a sprint race at the start of the season, failed to qualify in the first part of the race in 18th place.
