Oscar Piastri claimed Sprint pole for the Qatar Grand Prix with a stunning 1:20.055s, edging teammate and championship leader Lando Norris by just 0.202s. George Russell was second for Mercedes after a strong lap, while Norris completed the top three.
Fernando Alonso qualified fourth for Aston Martin ahead of Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda, who outqualified teammate Max Verstappen for the first time in either sprint or grand prix qualifying. Kimi Antonelli was seventh, with Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc, and Alex Albon rounding out the top ten.
Isack Hadjar narrowly missed out on SQ3 after having his final lap deleted for exceeding track limits, finishing 11th, while Oliver Bearman, Gabriel Bortoleto, Nico Hulkenberg, and Esteban Ocon were eliminated in SQ2.
Lewis Hamilton continued his difficult 2025 campaign, failing to escape SQ1 and ending up 18th behind Lance Stroll and Liam Lawson, who missed SQ2 by just seven hundredths of a second. Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto also fell in the first segment.
The session featured a hint of gamesmanship between Norris and Verstappen, with both drivers complaining about impeding each other in the early stages. The incidents were investigated, but no further action was taken. Verstappen also struggled with porpoising and had a lap deleted for exceeding track limits, leaving him sixth.
The Qatar Sprint Race gets underway at 5pm local time on Saturday (1am AEDT Sunday).
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Laps |
| 1 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:21.286 | 1:21.005 | 1:20.055 | 18 |
| 2 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:21.432 | 1:21.136 | 1:20.087 | 19 |
| 3 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:21.398 | 1:20.956 | 1:20.285 | 18 |
| 4 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:21.276 | 1:21.272 | 1:20.450 | 18 |
| 5 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull Racing | 1:21.458 | 1:21.152 | 1:20.519 | 20 |
| 6 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | 1:21.172 | 1:21.036 | 1:20.528 | 20 |
| 7 | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:21.555 | 1:21.376 | 1:20.532 | 18 |
| 8 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | 1:21.438 | 1:21.172 | 1:20.542 | 20 |
| 9 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:21.636 | 1:21.190 | 1:20.622 | 20 |
| 10 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 1:21.721 | 1:21.212 | 1:20.788 | 20 |
| 11 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls | 1:21.399 | 1:21.433 | 14 | |
| 12 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas F1 Team | 1:21.526 | 1:21.494 | 14 | |
| 13 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Kick Sauber | 1:21.623 | 1:21.567 | 13 | |
| 14 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Kick Sauber | 1:21.327 | 1:21.631 | 14 | |
| 15 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas F1 Team | 1:21.773 | 1:21.666 | 14 | |
| 16 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1:21.807 | 7 | ||
| 17 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | 1:21.851 | 6 | ||
| 18 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1:22.043 | 8 | ||
| 19 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:22.112 | 8 | ||
| 20 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | 1:22.364 | 8 |
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