F1 qualifying results: Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris lock out the front row at Qatar GP

The most pivotal qualifying hour of the 2025 Formula 1 season is upon us.

One that could help determine a Drivers’ Champion.

Oscar Piastri claimed a win in the F1 Sprint race at the Qatar Grand Prix just a few short hours ago, but with his third-place finish, Lando Norris moved closer to securing his first Drivers’ Championship. While there are several ways Norris can clinch a title tomorrow in the Qatar Grand Prix, the clearest path comes with a victory on Sunday.

Starting up front gives him the best possible route to that goal.

However, Norris could not secure pole position for the F1 Sprint race, as he started third behind Piastri and George Russell, who also finished ahead of him in the F1 Sprint race earlier today. And with Max Verstappen always looming — and needing a win to keep his own Drivers’ Championship hopes alive — the fight at the front is sure to be tight.

We’ll be tracking the entire qualifying hour here live, and the session gets underway at 1:00 p.m. Eastern. So check back early and often!

F1 Qatar Grand Prix provisional grid

Here is the provisional starting grid for the 2025 Qatar Grand Prix, which will be filled in as the session unfolds:

How Qatar GP qualifying happened

Q3

Piastri, Norris, Verstappen, Antonelli, Russell, Alonso, Sainz, Gasly, Leclerc, and Hadjar were the ten drivers who moved on to Q3. Yes, all three contenders for the Drivers’ Championship made it through, but how about Gasly dragging the A525 into Q3

Q3 began with Verstappen leading Norris onto the track, as the time ticked down from 12 minutes.

Arguably, the biggest 12 minutes of the F1 season were upon us.

“This is a stonking lap from Lando Norris,” said Jolyon Palmer in the F1TV commentary box as Norris cut the beam with a 1:19.495. Piastri responded by going purple through the second sector, but it was just off the time posted by Norris as he jumped into P2, 0.035 seconds behind his teammate.

After winding up his prep lap, Verstappen went next, but he was off the pace set by Norris in the first two sectors. The four-time champion came across with a 1:19.949, more than four-tenths behind Norris.

And Verstappen was dropped to fourth when Russell finished his first push lap and slotted into P3.

Behind them, Leclerc endured a massive spin at Turn 15. After fighting the SF25 in both Q1 and Q2, Leclerc finally endured a huge snap in Q3. While he kept the car out of the barriers, it was certainly a scary moment.

Then the red flag flew, as Williams released Sainz with a sticker still on his set of tires, and race officials wanted time to recover a bit of debris on the circuit. Race officials also noted the team for an unsafe release.

5:27 remained on the clock in Q3.

Eventually, the session resumed, and the remaining drivers roared out onto the track, with Russell first, followed by Norris and Leclerc.

Could Russell and/or Verstappen put pressure on McLaren, or was this going to be a two-way fight between Norris and Piastri?

Norris was up first, but he backed out of his first effort after an issue in the first sector. That opened the door for his teammate, and Piastri roared around the circuit with a 1:19.387, jumping into provisional pole position.

Verstappen had a chance and inched closer, but his time was still 0.264 seconds behind Piastri and it kept him behind Norris as well, as the Red Bull driver slotted in third.

Russell inched closer as well, but only managed a fourth-place finish.

Q2

Russell, Norris, Piastri, Verstappen, Sainz, Lawson, Bearman, Leclerc, Antonelli, Alonso, Hadjar, Albon, Hülkenberg, Bortoleto, and Gasly were the 15 drivers who advanced to the second segment of qualifying.

The start of Q2 was delayed by race officials, as marshals worked to clear debris off the track.

Eventually, the track was cleared, 15 minutes were put on the clock, and qualifying resumed. As with Q1 it was a Williams driver who led the grid back onto the circuit, as Sainz went first, followed by Albon and Verstappen.

Bearman was the early leader, topping the timing board with a time of 1:20.438, followed by Leclerc, Hülkenberg, and Sainz. Then came Verstappen’s first lap, and he went purple through all three sectors to jump into P1 with a 1:20.142.

But ten minutes remained in Q2.

It was over to Piastri for the next push lap from a title contender. The Australian driver roared through the first sector and was one-tenth up on Verstappen’s effort at that point. He improved his pace with a strong second sector and came home with a lap of 1:19.650, going into P2 by almost a half-second over Verstappen.

Norris went next but settled for third, 0.0496 seconds behind Piastri and 0.004 seconds behind Verstappen. But then his time was deleted due to exceeding track limits.

That only upped the pressure on the British driver as Q2 passed the halfway point.

When the clock hit five minutes remaining Albon, Bortoleto, Leclerc, Hülkenberg, and Norris were the five drivers in the elimination zone, with Norris still yet to set a time after his first lap was deleted.

Verstappen then delivered a second flying lap on his same set of tires, and managed to improve his time but not his position as he remained in P2 behind Piastri.

Then it was over to Norris, who needed to deliver a clean lap just to get a time on the board. The championship leader had a scruffy first sector but went purple through the second sector, eventually cutting the beam with a 1:19.861, good for second behind Piastri.

With one minute remaining, Antonelli, Lawson, Albon, Bortoleto, and Leclerc were the five drivers at risk of elimination. The Mercedes rookie took a bit step forward, coming across in P4 on his final push lap. That dropped Bearman into the drop zone, and the Haas rookie was eliminated.

Joining him were Hülkenberg, Lawson, Bortoleto, and Albon.

Q1

The qualifying hour began with 18 minutes on the clock and Sainz at the front of the field, leading the grid out onto Lusail International Circuit. Meanwhile, the McLaren duo of Norris and Piastri remained in their respective garage stalls, letting the traffic clear a bit before they took to the track.

After the C2 medium tires were mandated during the first two portions of qualifying yesterday, this hour began with each driver roaring around Lusail on a set of C3 soft tires.

While Sainz set the benchmark, his time of 1:22.354 was quickly eclipsed with laps from Bearman, Lawson, Bortoleto, and Hadjar, with Hadjar topping the timing sheets in the early going.

As the clock ticked down to 12 minutes remaining in the first segment of qualifying, it was time for the title contenders to take to the track. The first volley came from Verstappen, who pumped in a lap that clocked in at 1:20.984, just 0.004 seconds behind pace setter Alonso.

The first push lap from Norris came in at 1:21.465, which was good for seventh. But he was pushed down to eighth after Piastri jumped into P1 with a lap that clocked in at 1:20.739.

As the clock hit ten minutes remaining in Q1, the five drivers in the drop zone were Leclerc, Gasly, Ocon, Hamilton, and Colapinto.

It certainly seemed that Ferrari’s dismal weekend was going to continue, but those times came on used sets of soft tires. Leclerc then took to the track on a new set of C3 soft tires, and his subsequent effort pulled him out of the elimination zone as he improved to P5 on the timing board.

Times continued to tumble as more and more rubber stuck to the surface, evidenced by a lap from Hadjar that put him into P1, followed by a lap from Gasly that saw the Alpine driver jump up into P2.

Verstappen rocketed into P1 with a 1:20.534 as the clock hit six minutes remaining, but behind him, the McLaren duo was trading purple sectors on their next push laps. Norris jumped into P1 with a 1:20.157, three-tenths of a second ahead of Verstappen. Piastri responded with a 1:20.234, ahead of Verstappen but 0.077 seconds behind his teammate.

Meanwhile, Verstappen reported some “jumping” with his RB21 when downshifting.

With three minutes remaining in Q1, Lawson, Tsunoda, Ocon, Stroll, and Colapinto were the five drivers in the drop zone. At-risk drivers included Albon in P13, Bortoleto in P14, and Leclerc down in P15.

Leclerc responded again, moving up to P5 on his next effort, but that dropped Hamilton down to P13, and the seven-time champion remained at-risk of elimination here in Q1. As the final push laps unfolded, Norris and Piastri remained in their garage stalls, satisfied that their times would be enough.

When the clock hit zero, Tsunoda, Ocon, Hamilton, Stroll, and Colapinto were the five drivers eliminated.