Oscar Piastri has kept his 2025 drivers championship hopes very much alive, at least for 24 hours, with a perfect Saturday night in Qatar.
Looking fast and comfortable on the 5.4km Lusail Circuit in Qatar, Piastri was never threatened in the early Sprint race, winning from pole position to take eight crucial championship points and trim the championship lead of McLaren teammate Lando Norris to 22 points.
Two hours later, the 24-year-old from Melbourne was back on track and again showed poise and calm, laying down a blistering final lap in Q3 to claim pole position for Sunday’s F1 Qatar Grand Prix ahead of both Norris and Max Verstappen.
The result was Piastri’s sixth pole position of the 2025 season and his first since the Dutch Grand Prix on August 31.
A win for Piastri in tomorrow’s Qatar Grand Prix would send the championship to the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi next weekend.
However anything less would open the door for Lando Norris to secure the 2025 title in Qatar, meaning zero margin or error for Piastri and his team.
Win or lose, the Brit will become champion should he end the weekend 26 points or more ahead of Piastri and Verstappen.
The F1 Qatar Grand Prix starts on Monday morning at 3:00am (AEDT).
QUALIFYING CLASSIFICATION
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 29, 2025
Piastri storms to his sixth pole of the season #F1 #QatarGP pic.twitter.com/vwslFfKsH0