DOHA: Oscar Piastri took pole position for the Qatar Grand Prix with a superb lap to push McLaren teammate and Formula 1 title rival Lando Norris down to second on the grid for Sunday’s race.
Championship leader Norris leads Piastri by 22 points and defending champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull by 25.
A victory for Norris on Sunday guarantees a first F1 title.
He needs to finish four points ahead of Piastri and one point ahead of Verstappen, who is chasing a fifth straight F1 crown.
Norris set the fastest time on his first go, with Piastri .035 seconds behind and Verstappen almost half a second back. But Norris botched his second run and Piastri took advantage to beat him by .108 seconds after a faultless lap.
“Good session everyone,” Piastri said. “That was mega.”
Verstappen was ahead of Norris on the first time split but faded in the night-time session and qualified in third.
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 of Q1 — the first part of qualifying — for the second straight race after qualifying last at the Las Vegas GP.
Piastri gains ground
Earlier Saturday, 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.
Tsunoda was fifth ahead of Antonelli, with both getting five-second time penalties for going off track limits more than the maximum three times.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso got two points in seventh and Williams driver Carlos Sainz collected one point in eighth.
Hamilton’s slide continued when he placed 17th.
Last race ahead
The F1 season concludes on Dec. 7 in Abu Dhabi.
Verstappen has won the last two races in Qatar and four of the last five in Abu Dhabi.
Piastri has not won since the final day of August at the Dutch GP and the Australian has no podiums in the past six F1 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 tire degradation at the 5.4-kilometer (3.3-mile) Lusail International Circuit.
Pirelli tires are restricted to a maximum of 25 laps in the 57-lap race, which features high-speed corners.
Piastri takes pole position for Qatar GP ahead of teammate Norris and Verstappen
https://arab.news/ca2zw
Piastri takes pole position for Qatar GP ahead of teammate Norris and Verstappen
- A victory for Norris on Sunday guarantees a first F1 title
- He needs to finish four points ahead of Piastri and one point ahead of Verstappen
Messi dazzles as Miami beat Vancouver to win MLS title
- Argentina superstar Messi provided assists for two goals and helped create another to spark wild celebrations before a rapturous home crowd at the Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale
FORT LAUDERDALE, United States: Lionel Messi inspired Inter Miami to their first ever MLS Cup title on Saturday, playing a leading role in a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps in Florida.
Argentina superstar Messi provided assists for two goals and helped create another to spark wild celebrations before a rapturous home crowd at the Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.
Miami took the lead after an early Edier Ocampo own goal but were left reeling by Ali Ahmed’s second half-equalizer for Vancouver.
But Messi then laid on an assist for Argentina international team-mate Rodrigo De Paul to put Miami 2-1 up before supplying the pass for Tadeo Allende’s injury time goal that sealed victory.
Miami’s first Major League Soccer crown provided glittering vindication for co-owner David Beckham, the former England and Manchester United star who had long dreamed of bringing success to Miami.
“There was a lot of sleepless nights, but I always believed,” Beckham said afterwards. “I always believed in bringing the team here, and when I found the right partners I knew anything was possible.
“We always promised our fans that we would bring success, and bring the best players, and today we’ve achieved that.”
Vancouver — spearheaded by German legend Thomas Mueller — had looked the likelier victor after recovering from Ocampo’s eighth minute own goal to level through Ali Ahmed in the 60th minute.
The Whitecaps almost took the lead moments after the equalizer, with Emmanuel Sabbi’s shot crashing off both posts in the 62nd minute as Miami escaped.
But with the Whitecaps in complete control, the Canadians were stunned when Miami regained the lead after a blunder by midfielder Andres Cubas.
Cubas took too long in possession and was robbed by Messi, who skipped clear before releasing De Paul to provide the clinical finish.
Vancouver never recovered from that hammer blow and Miami started the party in injury time when Messi played in Allende for the third to make it 3-1.
The win marks the crowning achievement of Inter Miami since the club — which entered the league as an expansion club in 2020 — successfully lured Messi to Miami in 2023.
Saturday’s victory also marked the end of an era for two key figures in Miami’s rise to the top of Major League Soccer, with former Spanish internationals Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets heading into retirement.
