19:19
Will we be celebrating a new F1 World Champion in little under 24 hours time?
We'll have to wait and see, but we'll be back to make sure you don't miss a single moment of what will be a crucial Qatar GP.
Until then, ciao for now
Norris is eyeing a fourth pole in a row
2025 F1 Qatar GP Qualifying: As it happened - Piastri pips Norris to Qatar GP pole
Full live text commentary as it happened for the 2025 F1 Qatar Grand Prix Qualifying session, Round 23 of the 2025 F1 World Championship at the Lusail International Circuit
Oscar Piastri maintains his perfect weekend by pipping Lando Norris to pole position for the Qatar Grand Prix, while Max Verstappen gets underway in third place
29 Nov 2025
19:17
Verstappen: "A little bit happier"
"This qualifying was a little bit better, we are still quite far off, but at least I felt a little bit happier. Some limitations prevent us from pushing harder around the lap, but we are P3 and starting on the second row and it creates better opportunities because it is hard to pass around here. We will see what we can do tomorrow.
19:16
Norris: "First laps are opportunities"
"I just got a bit of understeer and was going to go off, so I had to abort. Which is a shame but that is the way it is, Oscar did a good lap and drove very well and has all weekend, so nothing to complain about, just didn't do the lap.
"The first couple of laps are opportunities for everyone, but after that it should probably be straight forward for everyone."
19:14
Piastri: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"
"We left the car pretty much the same, very minor tweaks here and there, but everything has been feeling great all weekend so if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
"It was really good, had a question mark on which tyres to use because I did a quick lap on a used set in Q2, but Q3 was really good on the new tyres.
On the conditions: "Pretty tough, I think with the two stops, we are probably going to be pushing hard the whole time. It won't be as hot a couple of years ago but I am expecting it to be a tough race. You are pulling G forces here at multiple points on the lap, so it's hard work but incredible fun.
19:11
Qatar GP Qualifying Results
| 2025 F1 Qatar Prix - Qualifying Results | ||||||
| Pos | Driver | Nat. | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
| 1 | Oscar Piastri | AUS | McLaren F1 Team | 1m20.234s | 1m19.650s | 1m19.387s |
| 2 | Lando Norris | GBR | McLaren F1 Team | 1m20.157s | 1m19.861s | 1m19.495s |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | NED | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 1m20.472s | 1m19.985s | 1m19.651s |
| 4 | George Russell | GBR | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1m20.074s | 1m20.186s | 1m19.842s |
| 5 | Kimi Antonelli | ITA | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1m20.576s | 1m20.084s | 1m19.846s |
| 6 | Isack Hadjar | FRA | Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team | 1m20.603s | 1m20.350s | 1m20.114s |
| 7 | Carlos Sainz | ESP | Atlassian Williams Racing | 1m20.520s | 1m20.251s | 1m20.287s |
| 8 | Fernando Alonso | ESP | Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team | 1m20.598s | 1m20.219s | 1m20.418s |
| 9 | Pierre Gasly | FRA | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 1m20.513s | 1m20.324s | 1m20.477s |
| 10 | Charles Leclerc | MON | Scuderia Ferrari HP | 1m20.564s | 1m20.343s | 1m20.561s |
| 11 | Nico Hulkenberg | GER | Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber | 1m20.630s | 1m20.353s | |
| 12 | Liam Lawson | NZL | Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team | 1m20.539s | 1m20.433s | |
| 13 | Oliver Bearman | GBR | MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | 1m20.548s | 1m20.438s | |
| 14 | Gabriel Bortoleto | BRA | Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber | 1m20.653s | 1m20.534s | |
| 15 | Alex Albon | THA | Atlassian Williams Racing | 1m20.629s | 1m20.629s | |
| 16 | Yuki Tsunoda | JPN | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 1m20.761s | ||
| 17 | Esteban Ocon | FRA | MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | 1m20.864s | ||
| 18 | Lewis Hamilton | GBR | Scuderia Ferrari HP | 1m20.907s | ||
| 19 | Lance Stroll | CAN | Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team | 1m21.058s | ||
| 20 | Franco Colapinto | ARG | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 1m21.137s | ||
19:09
1- Piastri
2- Norris
3- Verstappen
4- Russell
5- Antonelli
6- Hadjar
7- Sainz
8- Alonso
9- Gasly
10- Leclerc
19:08
Pole for Piastri
Oscar Piastri responds to Lando Norris' opening gambit to get his man on his second flying lap.
Frustration for Norris, who seemed to get a little distracted on his out-lap with George Russell's Mercedes, before running wide at Turn 2 and having no time to get around to start another lap
19:07
Verstappen can't quite break the McLaren deadlock but he rises to third place, Antonelli in fifth.
19:06
Piastri takes advantage of Norris' mistake to grab pole position from his team-mate
19:05
Norris runs wide at Turn 2 to scupper his hopes of improving on his time - can he get round to start another lap.
All eyes on Piastri
19:03
3mins to go and Norris decides to be the first driver out on track, triggering a wave of activity as rivals file in behind him
19:01
Q3 restarts
Just in time for the second and final wave of laps to decide pole for this crucial race
18:57
Red flag
We have a red flag due to on track debris.
One such debris is a bit of plastic that got caught around the rear tyre of Sainz's Williams and eventually came off around Turn 2.
But there is also gravel on track from the various wide moments, not least Leclerc's
18:56
The first wave of laps have now been completed and Norris has thrown down the gauntlet by out-pacing Piastri pretty much for the first time this weekend.
Norris leads Piastri from Russell, Verstappen, Hadjar, Antonelli, Alonso, Sainz, Gasly and Leclerc
18:56
Leclerc has a wild spin, turning round three times at high speed after losing it on the exit kerb - he avoids anything solid to live for another day, but it rather sums up Ferrari's weekend so far
18:53
Norris sets a 1m 19.495s, a big improvement for him and a tough benchmark for Piastri to match... and the Aussie falls just 0.035s short.
18:49
Q3 is GO
The fight for pole position starts right... now
18:44
Piastri, Norris, Russell, Antonelli, Leclerc, Verstappen, Sainz, Gasly, Hadjar and Alonso will go for pole in Q3
18:44
A big shout out to Pierre Gasly, who hauls his Alpine into Q3 just 24 hours after he qualified on the back row with his team-mate for the Sprint.
18:43
Out after Q2
11- Hulkenberg
12- Lawson
13- Bearman
14- Bortoleto
15- Albon
18:43
Flag in Q2
Leclerc survives for Q3 having been 15th for a long period.
18:40
Norris lifts himself out of danger into second, behind Piastri
Pressure on Antonelli, Lawson, Albon, Bortoleto and Leclerc as the final time attacks begin with one minute to go
18:38
Just under 5mins to go and the bottom five right now (included Norris, who is without a time after it was deleted) are:
- Lawson
- Albon
- Bortoleto
- Leclerc
- Norris
18:35
Piastri sets the benchmark with the first 1m 19secs lap to be completed in Qatar in an F1 car
Meanwhile, Norris has had a lap time deleted for that same Turn 10 infraction on the way into the corner
18:32
As Q2 ramps up, now is a good time to consider how things stand in that busy mid-field in the overall standings.
Lots of personal honour is at stake with a spot in the overall top ten up for grabs - currently Hadjar and Hulkenberg hold those positions two points splitting them, but they are precarious.
The in-form Sainz is one point behind Hulkenberg in 11th, while Bearman - on a run of five top ten finishes - is seven points behind Sainz.
Alonso, who has shown strong form this weekend so far, is another point behind Bearman in 13th overall, while Lawson is four points further back in 14th.
Still lots of points on offer from two rounds, but lots on the line
