Piastri begins Qatar revival with Sprint pole, Verstappen sixth after mistake

Lando Norris finished in third place after running wide in the final corner, which means George Russell will line up alongside the Australian driver on the front row of the grid.

After making a mistake on his first lap running wide in Turn 4, Max Verstappen finished only in sixth place, behind Yuki Tsunoda. The Japanese driver will start from fifth on the grid.

Fernando Alonso claimed fourth place. After being on the edge of getting eliminated in SQ2, Kimi Antonelli finished seventh ahead of Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc. Alexander Albon completed the Top 10 in Sprint Qualifying today.

Antonelli was initially out in SQ2, but after Isack Hadjar's lap time was deleted for track limits in Turn 8, the Mercedes rookie made it through to SQ3.

Together with the Frenchman, fellow rookies Oliver Bearman and Gabriel Bortoleto, and Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Ocon were knocked out.

Drivers were doing laps constantly during the first 12 minutes on the medium tyres. Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari woes continued, as he got knocked out after finishing in P18. Together with the seven-time world champion, Lance Stroll, Liam Lawson and the two Alpine drivers were eliminated.

An impeding incident between Verstappen and Norris was noted, but the stewards said it required no further investigation.

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