Oscar Piastri stormed to pole position at the Qatar Grand Prix after Lando Norris failed to get to the line in time for his final effort. Max Verstappen held onto third place ahead of Mercedes‘ George Russell, while Lewis Hamilton was eliminated in Q1 for the second time in as many days.

Norris and Piastri set the tone for the showdown in Q1 on a critical evening for the World Championship, setting lap times within a tenth of a second of one another behind Russell at the top of the leaderboard.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the order, Hamilton suffered a Q1 elimination for the second successive weekend with only Lance Stroll and Franco Colapinto slower than the seven-time world champion. Team-mate Charles Leclerc was only ninth-fastest himself as Ferrari’s struggles continued despite set-up changes.

In Q2, Norris commenced his final tour of the Lusail International Circuit without a representative lap time on the board after a couple of deleted efforts. Fortunately for the Brit, he avoided a disastrous early elimination, recording the second-fastest time of the session with his last-ditch attempt.

Leclerc found himself flirting with an early exit from qualifying after going only ninth-fastest during his final run, but the cars below him failed to improve sufficiently, and Ferrari’s Monegasque talent squeezed into Q3.

Norris set the early Q3 marker before a red flag for debris halted the session with six minutes remaining. When the clock resumed, the Brit backed out of his next attempt and then failed to reach the line in time for another effort. Piastri made no mistake, though, delivering his second pole position in as many days.

Qatar Grand Prix qualifying results

1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

2. Lando Norris (McLaren)

3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

4. George Russell (Mercedes)

5. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)

6. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)

7. Carlos Sainz (Williams)

8. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

9. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

10. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

11. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)

12. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)

13. Oliver Bearman (Haas)

14. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) – five-place grid penalty for Grand Prix

15. Alex Albon (Williams)

16. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull)

17. Esteban Ocon (Haas)

18. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)

19. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

20. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)