- F1
Who will take pole position for the F1 Sprint race at the Qatar Grand Prix?
by Mark SchofieldUpdated Nov 28, 2025, 5:45 PM UTC
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Mark Schofield is a former college quarterback and attorney covering the NFL and F1.Only 24 points separate the three contenders for the 2025 Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship.
That means every point counts over the final two weeks of the season.
Today, the 20 drivers will take on qualifying for the F1 Sprint race at the Qatar Grand Prix, where eight points will go to the winner of tomorrow’s F1 Sprint race. Earlier today, the drivers enjoyed their single hour of practice before the lap times count for real, and it was the McLaren pair of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris who led the way. Piastri topped the timing sheets with a lap of 1:20.924, just 0.058 seconds ahead of Norris.
Max Verstappen posted the sixth-fastest time, clocking in 0.580 seconds behind Piastri.
Norris currently leads in the Drivers’ Championship race with 390 points, followed by Piastri and Verstappen who sit level on points with 366 each. Norris can technically clinch his first Drivers’ Championship this weekend if he leaves Qatar with a 26-point advantage over his rivals, otherwise, the title race will head to the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
We’ll be tracking F1 Sprint qualifying at the Qatar Grand Prix, which gets underway at 12:30 p.m. Eastern, live today here at SB Nation. So follow along with us as the grid gets set for tomorrow’s F1 Sprint race.
Qatar GP provisional F1 Sprint grid
Here is the provisional grid for the F1 Sprint race at the Qatar Grand Prix, which will be filled in as qualifying unfolds:
Row
Position
Driver
Team
Position
Driver
Team
Row 112Row 234Row 356Row 478Row 5910Row 611Isack HadjarVCARB12Oliver BearmanHaasRow 713Gabriel BortoletoSauber14Nico HülkenbergSauberRow 815Esteban OconHaas16Lance StrollAston MartinRow 917Liam LawsonVCARB18Lewis HamiltonFerrariRow 1019Pierre GaslyAlpine20Franco ColapintoAlpineHow F1 Sprint qualifying unfolded
What happened in SQ2
Under F1 Sprint rules, the C2 medium tires were again required in SQ2, and the session began with ten minutes on the clock.
But the end of SQ1 remained the topic of discussion, with race officials looking into potential impeding incidents between Norris and Verstappen. Alex Jacques and Jolyon Palmer described them as “gamesmanship” more than anything else.
However, the ultimate decision rests in the hands of the stewards.
Cars took to the track, and unlike SQ1, Mercedes went on the early side with Russell leading the 15 remaining drivers onto the circuit.
With eight minutes remaining in SQ2, the word came from race officials that there would be no further investigation into the incidents between Norris and Verstappen.
As the opening push laps came in, Verstappen led the way, followed by Leclerc and Tsunoda in the top three. But then it was time for the MCL39s to hit the track, and Norris jumped into P1 with six minutes left in the session with a 1:20.956. Piastri’s opening lap was just behind his teammates, as the Australian driver delivered a 1:21.005 to slide into P2, 0.049 seconds behind Norris.
With five minutes left in SQ2, Ocon, Albon, Bortoleto, Alonso, and Antonelli were the five drivers in the drop zone.
Antonelli jumped into P7 with under three minutes to go, as the final rounds of push laps began. It was over to Verstappen for his next effort, but the concern at Red Bull was over the level of bouncing the driver was reporting inside the cockpit of the RB21. While his next lap was strong, it was only good for third behind Norris and Piastri.
Bearman, Ocon, Albon, Bortoleto, and Alonso were the five drivers in the drop zone as the clock approached zero. Alonso jumped into P7 as the track came alive for the final laps on the C2 medium tires, before the softs would come into play in SQ3.
Hadjar and Hülkenberg had lap times deleted, which led to their eliminations. Bearman, Bortoleto, and Ocon joined them in the bottom five of SQ2.
What happened in SQ1
12 minutes were put on the clock, and F1 Sprint qualifying began under the floodlights at Lusail International Circuit. As required under F1 Sprint rules, C2 medium tires were bolted onto the 20 cars as SQ1 began, and tires may be a big story over the course of the weekend. As we discussed earlier this week, Pirelli, the sport’s exclusive tire supplier, has mandated a 25-lap maximum for each set of tires.
That is something to watch through Sunday’s main event.
Leading the drivers out was none other than Verstappen, who was the first driver to exit pit lane and take on the Lusail International Circuit, with its 16 corners, 10 of which are right-handed turns that put tremendous stress on the left front tires.
Verstappen set the early benchmark with a time of 1:22.258, which stayed atop the timing sheets as other drivers completed their initial push laps but was off the laps posted by Piastri and Norris during FP1.
Then came the opening gambit from Norris, who went purple through the first sector and clocked in at 1:21.621, which vaulted him into P1. Piastri followed with a 1:21813, just 0.192 seconds behind his McLaren teammate. With seven minutes remaining in the session, those two led the way, followed by Alonso, Hadjar, and Albon rounding out the top five.
The Alpine duo of Gasly and Colapinto were down in the elimination zone along with Lawson, Antonelli, and Russell, all three having yet to set a time by the six-minute mark.
The second push lap from Verstappen saw the Red Bull driver deliver the fastest first sector to that point, along with the fastest third sector, and Verstappen roared back to P1 with a 1:21.494.
Gasly then delivered a strong lap, jumping up to P8 with five minutes left in SQ1. Times kept tumbline as Tsunoda jumped up to P5, Sainz into P6, and Ocon into P9.
McLaren answered Verstappen’s volley, with Norris pumping in a 1:21.398 to take P1 for a few seconds, only to be nipped by Piastri, who delivered a 1:21.286 to jump ahead of Norris by 0.112 seconds.
As the clock hit three minutes remaining, neither Mercedes driver had yet to set a time, as the Silver Arrows waited to go until the end of the session. Antonelli’s first push lap kept him in the bottom five, while Russell jumped to P5.
With the final push laps looming, the five drivers at risk were: Antonelli, Gasly, Lawson, Hamilton, and Colapinto. Ocon (P13), Bearman (P14), and Stroll (P15) were the other drivers at risk.
How about Alonso? The wily veteran rocketed to the top of the timing sheets with 90 seconds remaining with a time of 1:21.276. Aston Martin is in a tight fight for seventh in the Constructors’ Championship, where they sit eighth with 72 points, one point behind seventh-place Haas.
The clock finally hit zero just as Verstappen crossed the line to jump into P1. Hamilton crossed the line in P15, which put him a risk of elimination.
Ultimately, the seven-time champion was eliminated down in P18. Stroll, Lawson, Hamilton, Gasly, and Colapinto were the five drivers eliminated.
“The car is not good,” warned Jolyon Palmer in the F1TV booth about Ferrari and the SF25.
Also of note? An incident between Norris and Verstappen was noted by race officials for a potential impeding penalty.
Verstappen led the way in SQ1, followed by Alonso, Piastri, Hülkenberg, and Norris in the top five.
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