F1 qualifying results: Who takes pole for the Qatar Grand Prix?

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

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.

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.