Doha, Nov 29 (LatestNewsX) – In Qatar’s sprint, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri outpaced Mercedes’ George Russell and fellow Australian Lando Norris to claim the win at Lusail International Circuit over a full 19‑lap run.
Stepping onto the grid from pole, Piastri kept a tight grip on tyre wear and held his lead to the finish. Max Verstappen of Red Bull, who could have dropped to fourth from six, was forced to settle for fourth after dealing with a porpoising problem. Kimi Antonelli had a brief moment in the front, holding fifth until Yuki Tsunoda received a penalty for cutting track limits, but Antonelli himself was penalised five seconds at the finish, pushing him back to sixth while Tsunoda finished the race with just four points. Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz closed the event on the points‑scoring positions, with the sprint largely shaped by careful tyre strategy and clean driving.
Earlier on Friday, Piastri clinched pole on the last lap, beating Russell by a mere 0.032 s. Norris’ lap time dropped after he hit gravel at the sprint’s final lap, dropping him behind Russell and ahead of Alonso, with Tsunoda ending up in fifth place.
Verstappen, normally quick in sprint qualifying, lost track position early after encountering gravel during SQ3, ultimately putting him in sixth.
After overnight adjustments were made under parc ferme, Lewis Hamilton—knocked out in the first quarter—was forced to start from the pit lane. Franco Colapinto, Pierre Gasly, and Lance Stroll faced similar issues. Charles Leclerc found himself stuck in a midfield DRS train after going wide at Turn 2, falling from ninth to thirteenth. His teammate Hamilton remained mired in 18th after his pit‑lane start offered no advantage.
Kick Sauber remains the sole team without a sprint point this season, with Hadjar ending 9th and Albon 10th missing the score, followed by Gabriel Bortoleto and Ollie Bearman. Lawson finished 14th, ahead of Esteban Ocon and Nico Hülkenberg. The remaining pit‑lane starters used the session as a testing ground, swapping tyres at various intervals.
Stay informed on all the latest news, real-time breaking news updates, and follow all the important headlines in world News on Latest NewsX. Follow us on social media Facebook, Twitter(X), Gettr and subscribe our Youtube Channel.
