2025 F1 Qatar Grand Prix: Practice and Sprint Qualifying as it happened

We have an exciting Sprint Race in store for tomorrow, with Piastri starting on pole position as he looks to claim back some much-needed momentum in the title race. 

Russell starts alongside Piastri on the front row for Mercedes, with Norris lining up third. 

The other title contender, Verstappen, starts down in sixth after a shocker of an SQ3. 

We will bring you all of the action, which gets underway at 14:00 UK time tomorrow. 

"It has been a good day, which is nice for a change. Things clicked from the start, so thanks to the team. It has looked good this weekend so far," Piastri said after claiming sprint pole. 

"There are a few things to tidy up, which is nice to say on pole. It's only Sprint pole but I will take whatever I can get.

"Sprint weekends are tough to know if you are fully on top of things but it felt good all day and we made good adjustments before Qualifying. The pace was there all day."

Alonso takes a strong fourth for Aston Martin ahead of the Red Bull pair headed by Tsunoda.

It is very rare that we say Verstappen has been outqualified by his Red Bull teammate but that is exactly what has happened on this day in Qatar. 

Tsunoda takes P5 ahead of Verstappen and Antonelli's Mercedes. 

Sainz, Leclerc and Albon complete the top 10.

Piastri puts his McLaren on provisional pole with a lap just 0.044s quicker than teammate Norris! 

Russell is third ahead of Leclerc and the Williams pair of Albon and Sainz. 

Alonso sits seventh, ahead of Antonelli and the Red Bulls of Tsunoda and Verstappen, who did not set a lap time after his off-track excursion. 

Verstappen is struggling with the handling of his Red Bull as he runs wide at Turn 4 and blows his first run of SQ3. 

1. Lando Norris (McLaren)
2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
4. George Russell (Mercedes)
5. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull)
6. Carlos Sainz (Williams)
7. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
8. Alex Albon (Williams)
9. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
10. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)

Norris is quickest in SQ2, 0.049s ahead of McLaren teammate Piastri. 

Russell is third, three tenths down, ahead of Red Bull's Verstappen. 

"Ah man, the car couldn't go any quicker," reports Hamilton as he exits in SQ1.

Replays show his final flying lap was a mess, with traffic including teammate Leclerc all around him as he opened the lap. 

Ferrari are clearly lacking pace this weekend, with Leclerc only 13th in SQ1. 

Verstappen ended up quickest in SQ1, ahead of Alonso, Piastri, Hulkenberg and Norris. 

Verstappen briefly took over top spot with his second flying lap of SQ1, but the McLaren pair struck back immediately. 

Now it's Piastri who has the advantage, 0.112s ahead of Norris, with Verstappen a couple of tenths back in third. 

The Saubers of Bortoleto and Hulkenberg are fourth and fifth. 

Hamilton is down in 16th and in trouble. He is struggling for pace in his Ferrari and 1.2s off the pace. 

Norris is the faster of the two McLaren drivers after the first runs of SQ1.

The world championship leader is 0.192s clear of Piastri, as Alonso puts his Aston Martin third. 

Piastri edged out McLaren teammate Norris to the fastest time in the sole practice session in Qatar earlier. 

Can the Australian continue his fine start to the weekend in what promises to be a crucial Sprint Qualifying and beat Norris to pole position? 

McLaren head into Sprint Qualifying looking like the clear favourites based on first practice, but you can never rule out Verstappen, while Mercedes also looked fast and could be in the battle. 

This is your friendly reminder that Sprint Qualifying gets underway in one hour's time!

Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner is never shy when it comes to giving his opinion on controversial F1 topics. 

Steiner has criticised McLaren for being "stubborn" in their continued refusal to impose team orders amid a three-way F1 title battle in 2025. 

The ex-Haas boss has urged McLaren to back Norris, with Red Bull's Max Verstappen remaining a threat heading into the final two rounds. 

Norris is just 24 points clear of McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri and Verstappen. 

"They must support him [Norris],” Steiner told The Red Flags Podcast. "Otherwise, I mean, he hasn't got a chance. If Oscar steals the point from Lando, that would be... Wow. If Oscar is leading the race, Lando is second, and they don't let Lando pass, I would be shocked.

"How fair do you want to be? Knowing that Lando now has a lead, but it's not a comfortable lead for the animal coming, it's like, 'Wow, do we want to be eaten up by the animal, or do we try to help one guy?’

"How stubborn can you be?”

F1 drivers met with the FIA on Thursday night in Qatar to discuss the policing of racing rules and the guidelines stewards use to judge incidents.

Oscar Piastri’s penalty at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix was one of five key incidents highlighted during the meeting.

Among the key takeaways from the meeting was a stronger emphasis on respect for yellow flags, and the discussion of potential additional concepts to further enhance safety.

Drivers made “a clear preference” for hearings to be held after the race when stewards believe not all relevant elements may be available at the time of the incident.

There was also shared agreement that the guidelines “cannot cover every scenario”, underlining the need of having an experienced driver steward on each panel. The possibility of adding guidance on blue flags to the guidelines was also discussed.

However, it was ultimately determined that there will be no immediate changes to the driving standards guidelines document for the final two rounds of the season. 

The other big story following the Las Vegas Grand Prix was the news that F1 design legend Adrian Newey will become Aston Martin's team principal next season. 

Aston Martin confirmed the surprise news on Wednesday, with Andy Cowell removed from his current position of team principal and CEO just over a year after joining the team. Cowell will move into a different position within the company. 

66-year-old Newey has never held the title of team principal but will do so for the first time in his illustrious F1 career in 2026 as he looks to build Aston Martin into championship winners in the future. 

Newey was seen sitting on Aston Martin's pit wall during first practice in Qatar.