Here are the complete results from the Sprint race at the Qatar Grand Prix, which included a dramatic last-lap change of positions…
McLaren clinched a 1-2 in the Sprint race at the Qatar Grand Prix, with Oscar Piastri inheriting victory as Lando Norris moved aside out of the final corner to relinquish the win to his teammate – Piastri thus repeating his Sprint win from last season.
Qatar GP Sprint a masterclass in McLaren teamwork
Norris held his nerve off the starting line to maintain his lead, while Piastri came out on top of a side-by-side battle with Russell to emerge ahead and give McLaren a 1-2 early in what was a frantic opening lap.
With Russell settling into third, Sainz held onto fourth place ahead of Hamilton and Leclerc, while Hulkenberg and Gasly both got the better of Verstappen to demote the new World Champion down to ninth and out of the points.
Russell clung onto the back of Piastri, applying the pressure, and got close enough on Lap 4 for the British driver to exclaim “He turned into me” over team radio as he felt Piastri had been too robust in his defence through Turn 1.
With Piastri coming under pressure from Russell, it became clear that Norris had slowed the pace up front in a bid to aid his teammate by giving him DRS in defence – this resulted in a train of cars with the top six covered by just 4.4 seconds at half distance.
Starting Lap 14, Leclerc dived up the inside of Hamilton into Turn 1 – leading to a thrilling side-by-side duel over several corners just inches apart, with Leclerc coming out on top to move into fifth.
At the same time, Russell attacked Piastri once again as Norris pulled clear, leading to the Australian diving across the track to defend against the Mercedes. This led Russell to get on the radio to say “F**k me, that was close! That’s twice now!”
With McLaren asking Norris to hang back in order to “please help Oscar”, Piastri kept using the DRS from Norris to hold Russell at bay – meaning the McLarens held on to take the 1-2 and maximise their points scoring and solidify the Woking-based squad’s position in the Constructors’ Championship.
However, a shock unfolded out of the final corner as Norris held back to allow Piastri through to take the win – an apparent payback for Piastri’s relinquishing of the win in the Brazil sprint race.
Russell, despite throwing everything he had at Piastri, had to settle for third, with Sainz in fourth and Leclerc in fifth – the top five spread out over less than five seconds.
With Hamilton sixth, Hulkenberg took seventh, while Verstappen salvaged eighth place after his tough start to the race.
2024 Qatar Grand Prix – Sprint race results
- 1. Oscar Piastri McLaren 19 Laps
- 2. Lando Norris McLaren +0.136
- 3. George Russell Mercedes +0.410
- 4. Carlos Sainz Ferrari +1.326
- 5. Charles Leclerc Ferrari +5.073
- 6. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +5.650
- 7. Nico Hulkenberg Haas +8.508
- 8. Max Verstappen Red Bull +10.368
- 9. Pierre Gasly Alpine +14.513
- 10. Kevin Magnussen Haas +15.485
- 11. Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +19.204
- 12. Valtteri Bottas Sauber +23.351
- 13. Lance Stroll Aston Martin +24.421
- 14. Esteban Ocon Alpine +30.379
- 15. Alex Albon Williams +33.062
- 16. Liam Lawson VCARB +34.356
- 17. Yuki Tsunoda VCARB +35.102
- 18. Franco Colapinto Williams +35.639
- 19. Zhou Guanyu Sauber +71.436
- 20. Sergio Perez Red Bull +74.371
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