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Back on form: Piastri's perfect Saturday in Qatar
Jaiden Sciberras • November 30th, 2025 10:44 am
Oscar Piastri's Formula 1 campaign is far from over, perfecting Saturday's action in Qatar to stabilise his charge for the Drivers' Championship.
Off the back of securing a much-needed pole position for the opening sprint race, Piastri would go on to claim victory in the short format, beating out Mercedes' George Russell and third-placed Lando Norris in a comprehensive drive.
Fellow Championship contender Max Verstappen could only cross the line in fourth place.
The win awarded Piastri a crucial eight points in the Drivers' Championship race, marking the Australian's first win since the Dutch Grand Prix in late August.
"Nice start to the day," Piastri said post-race.
"It's been a little while since I've had a smooth run like that, so very happy with it so far. Obviously ther's still a long way to go this weekend. It's all pointing in the right direction so far."
"It's been going well so far... if it ain't broke, don't fix it."
Clearly back in rhythm with his McLaren, the day was far from done for the 24-year-old, lapping a superb 1:19.387 in Q3 at the Lusail International Circuit - over 0.1 seconds faster than his teammate and Championship rival Norris, to secure pole position for the Qatar Grand Prix.
The stellar lap once again marks Piastri's first pole since the Dutch GP, and sees the Australian on the front row alongside Lando Norris, with Verstappen qualifying in third position.
"On the whole, it's been my best season by some margin," Piastri said post Qualifying.
"Maybe I wouldn't say the last four races or so have been the best. When you look at the picture as a whole, it's been a very strong season so far.
"It's nice to be back on form this weekend. I feel like this has been the most complete season I've had - clearly there is still a fair bit of headroom, which is frustrating at times, but (also) encouraging at times.
"I think it's been a good season, but still two races to go."
The Championship picture
With just two races to go, winning in Qatar is an absolute must if Piastri wants to remain in the hunt for the final week of the F1 season.
As it stands, Piastri's eight-point haul via the sprint closes the gap on teammate Norris atop the Drivers' Championship and provides slight breathing room on Verstappen's Red Bull.
Norris' third place sprint finish awarded the Brit six points, while Verstappen claimed five having finished just outside the top three.
DRIVERS' CHAMPIONSHIP
- L.NORRIS - 396 POINTS (McLaren)
- O.PIASTRI - 374 POINTS (McLaren)
- M.VERSTAPPEN - 371 POINTS (Red Bull)
Given Norris' 22-point lead, the Brit remains in a commanding position despite the sprint loss. Put simply, a win in Qatar sews up Norris' first Drivers' Championship, with even a second-place finish for Piastri extending the gap to 29 points entering the final race - only a maximum of 25 points are up for grabs in Abu Dhabi.
If Piastri manages to carry his weekend form into Sunday, a GP win will reduce the margin to a minimum of 15 points (if Norris holds on to second place), while if Lando slips to ninth or lower, Piastri would reclaim the Championship lead following what would be a perfect weekend.
As for Max Verstappen, if Norris finishes above the Dutchman over the weekend by any margin, his late Championship charge will fall just short, cutting off his four-season dominance at the pinnacle of Formula 1.
The race in Qatar kicks off at 3:00am AEDT tomorrow morning.
