F1 Qatar Grand Prix: Oscar Piastri takes the Sprint win to inch closer to Lando Norris

Oscar Piastri started and ended up front in the F1 Sprint race at the Qatar Grand Prix, picking up eight critical points as he looks to chase down Lando Norris in the Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship chase.

But a third-place finish from Norris gives the McLaren driver a chance to secure his first Drivers’ Championship with a win in the Qatar Grand Prix tomorrow.

Piastri held onto the lead ahead of George Russell and Norris, while Max Verstappen rocketed up to P4 by getting by both Fernando Alonso and teammate Yuki Tsunoda. Tsunoda had a chance at overtaking Norris off the start, but when the McLaren driver closed the door, Tsunoda gave Verstappen space to pick up a place.

Verstappen closed in on Norris by the third lap and was within DRS range of the McLaren driver as the grid wound around the Lusail International Circuit. But soon Norris pulled within DRS range of Russell in front of him, giving him a chance to neutralize Verstappen’s charge behind him.

By Lap 7, the field had settled, and the speculation in the F1TV commentary box was that drivers were shifting into tire-management mode. Given Pirelli’s concerns ahead of the event — concerns that were only heightened by analysis of the tires after yesterday’s running — teams may have been wary of potential blowouts from extended pushing on the tires.

The closest fight at this point of the F1 Sprint race came for P6, as Kimi Antonelli had closed to within DRS range of veteran Alonso in front of him. A wide moment at the start of Lap 13 saw Alonso slide into the gravel, opening the door for Antonelli to seize the position.

It was around that time when Mercedes informed Russell that teams were starting to see the tires degrade a bit, which led to other drivers experiencing moments such as Alonso’s slide into the gravel. Track limits were also a concern for several drivers, including Tsunoda, who was given a five-second penalty for too many instances of exceeding the track limits.

That was a disappointing moment for Tsunoda, coming just hours after outqualifying Verstappen for the first time in his Red Bull career. The penalty put Tsunoda’s finish in the points at risk.

On Lap 15, Norris started to gain ground on Russell in front of him, closing the gap to 1.5 seconds to the rear wing of Russell’s Mercedes. As Norris was moving forward, Piastri reported a bit of “vibration” from the cockpit of his MCL39. Would there be a dramatic final chapter to the F1 Sprint race in Qatar?

There would not be, as the drivers settled in for the final few laps and took the checkered flag in the order they spent much of the F1 Sprint race in. Piastri took the win ahead of Russell, while Norris joined them on the podium.

Verstappen finished fourth.

While Piastri managed to pick up two points in the chase for the Drivers’ Championship, Norris can still clinch the title with a win in the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday, as these are the current standings for the three title contenders:

Norris: 396 pointsPiastri: 374 pointsVerstappen: 371 points

A win from Norris would move him to 421 points, and more importantly, the second-place finisher in a grand prix secures 18 points. That means that even if Piastri were to finish second behind Norris, Norris would have a 29-point lead over Piastri, who would have 392 points in this situation.

Whether that happens, however, remains to be seen.

F1 Sprint provisional results

Here are the provisional results from the F1 Sprint race at the Qatar Grand Prix:

Position

Driver

Team

1

Oscar Piastri

McLaren

2

George Russell

Mercedes

3

Lando Norris

McLaren

4

Max Verstappen

Red Bull

5

Kimi Antonelli

Mercedes

6

Yuki Tsunoda

Red Bull

7

Fernando Alonso

Aston Martin

8

Carlos Sainz Jr.

Aston Martin

9

Isack Hadjar

VCARB

10

Alexander Albon

Williams

11

Gabriel Bortoleto

Sauber

12

Oliver Bearman

Haas

13

Charles Leclerc

Ferrari

14

Liam Lawson

VCARB

15

Esteban Ocon

Haas

16

Nico Hülkenberg

Sauber

17

Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari

18

Pierre Gasly

Alpine

19

Lance Stroll

Aston Martin

20

Franco Colapinto

Alpine