Saturday was a big day for McLaren driver Oscar Piastri stormed to a commanding victory in the Qatar Sprint and followed it up by winning pole for Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix at the Losail International Circuit.
Starting from the pole in the 19-lap Sprint race, Piastri led the entire distance, keeping Mercedes driver George Russell at bay.
Piastri’s teammate and championship leader Lando Norris came home third in the Sprint race.
Max Verstappen finished fourth for Red Bull, with Yuki Tsunoda fifth.
Piastri was again the best of the lot during qualifying for Sunday’s race.
Turning a best lap of 1 minute and 19.387 seconds, Piastri was .108 seconds quicker than his teammate, Norris, who wound up second.
“A great result to be on pole and to have won the Sprint,” Piastri said. “I’ve been able to get comfortable in the car really easily here and the pace has been mega. Driving around here in these conditions is some of the most fun you can have in an F1 car, so it seems to have all clicked well.
“However, the big points are in the main race, so let’s see what we can do tomorrow. Just got to keep focused, do what we can overnight and make sure we finish first.”
Verstappen was third, with Mercedes teammates Russell and Kimi Antonelli completing the top five.