F1 driver Oscar Piastri during the 2025 season.
(Photo: Marco Canoniero/Dreamstime)

Oscar Piastri Wins F1 Sprint in Qatar to Keep His Championship Alive

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Oscar Piastri won an uneventful Qatar Sprint race on Saturday (Nov. 29), dominating from the start. George Russell finished second, with Lando Norris in third and Max Verstappen in fourth.

The win earned the Australian driver eight points, bringing his deficit to points leader Norris down to 22. Verstappen now trails Norris by 25 points after his fourth-place run.

“It’s been a good weekend so far, and everything went smoothly in the sprint there,” Piastri said after the race. “It’s a very different circuit to where we’ve been [recently]. This is a track I’ve enjoyed in the past, and enjoying it again, clearly.”

SPIELBERG, AUSTRIA - JUNE 27: Lance Stroll of Canada driving the (18) Aston Martin F1 Team AMR25 Mercedes on track during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Austria at Red Bull Ring on June 27, 2025 in Spielberg, Austria. (Photo by Steven Tee/LAT Images) 2222440818 Colour Image, Horizontal, sport, motorsport, formula one racing

Adrian Newey Taking Over Aston Martin Team Principal Role

For the first time since the Dutch Grand Prix at the end of August, Piastri’s McLaren lined up in pole position. He was joined on the front row by the Mercedes of Russell, with championship leader Norris in third. Verstappen, the other main contender in this year’s championship, took to the grid in sixth.

All drivers had a clean start, with Verstappen making up two places through the opening corners, putting him just behind Norris.

By the end of the first lap, Piastri had already opened up a gap of more than one second, and appeared comfortable in clean air.

Despite having the benefit of DRS for the first eight laps, Verstappen was unable to make a move on Norris, who was also falling back from Russell.

In the second half, the McLarens of Piastri and Norris appeared to have a stronger pace than either the Mercedes of Russell or the Red Bull of Verstappen. However, everything gets reset before qualifying, when teams are allowed to change their set-up.

Having been untroubled for the full 19 laps, Piastri finished the sprint over two seconds ahead of Russell, keeping his championship hopes alive.

2025 F1 Sprint Results From Qatar

Teams and drivers will only have a few hours’ rest before they’re back on track in qualifying for tomorrow’s Qatar Grand Prix. Coverage begins on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN.

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Peter Molloy began following Formula 1 during the 1985 Australian Grand Prix. He cheered for a certain Ayrton Senna, who was driving the same black and gold colors as a toy F1 car that Pete had been given. Pete continued to be a fan of Senna throughout his childhood. Fast forward many moons, and Peter now combines significant journalistic experience with decades of watching F1 to cover the latest on-track and off-track action.

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