Oscar Piastri walked into Saturday’s Qatar Sprint and turned it into his personal parade. In a race almost completely devoid of action, the McLaren driver controlled the field from start to finish, claiming a calm and calculated win that trims his championship deficit to 22 points behind teammate Lando Norris.
Piastri never flinched. He launched cleanly, built a cushion over George Russell, and cruised across the line with 4.9 seconds in hand after 19 laps. Russell held firm in second, while Norris — briefly under threat from Max Verstappen — completed the podium.
Verstappen Attacks Early, Fades Late
Verstappen’s opening laps were fierce. Helped by Yuki Tsunoda, who stepped aside, the Dutchman slotted into fourth almost immediately and began stalking Norris. But as the laps ticked by, the Red Bull lacked the firepower to stay in the fight, leaving Verstappen to settle for fourth.
Tsunoda, meanwhile, delivered his best-ever Red Bull result with sixth place, finishing behind Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz, Isack Hadjar, and Alexander Albon.
Bortoleto’s Charge Stalls
Further back, Gabriel Bortoleto made a strong start, jumping two places to 11th. He hounded Albon all race long but never found a way past, crossing the line in the same position.
Ferrari endured yet another miserable outing: Charles Leclerc limped home in 13th, and Lewis Hamilton — yes, Hamilton — ended a painful day in 17th.
How the Qatar Sprint Unfolded
From the moment the lights went out, Piastri slammed the door shut on any hope of surprise. He held the lead, Russell slotted into second, and Norris maintained third.
Verstappen muscled past Alonso thanks to Tsunoda’s cooperation, while Bortoleto jumped from 13th to 11th. Leclerc, meanwhile, plummeted from ninth to 13th in a disastrous opening lap.
Piastri quickly broke DRS on Russell as Verstappen hovered menacingly behind Norris, complaining over the radio that his Red Bull was bouncing heavily. Norris briefly lost DRS to Russell but regained it on lap five, keeping Verstappen stuck.
With just one DRS zone and a track dominated by high-speed corners, the race soon fell into predictable formation. Norris finally stretched the gap to Verstappen past one second, using strong pace in the final sector, while Verstappen probed but never found a breakthrough.
Behind them, Bortoleto fought to stay within a second of Albon, just outside the points. Leclerc scrapped with Oliver Bearman for 12th but then made another mistake, getting passed by Liam Lawson — only for Racing Bulls to order Lawson to hand the place back for going off-track.
Tsunoda Penalized — Hadjar Inherits Points
Just when things seemed settled, Tsunoda was slapped with a five-second penalty for repeated track-limits violations. That dropped him out of the points and handed the final scoring position to Isack Hadjar, who continues strengthening his case as Tsunoda’s potential Red Bull replacement.
At the front, nothing changed. Piastri controlled the pace with ease, and the sprint fizzled out exactly as it began — with McLaren utterly unbothered.
