Oscar Piastri will start the sprint race in Qatar from pole position.

Piastri hit back after a tough run of form to pip Mercedes’ George Russell to top spot. The Australian hasn’t finished on the podium since the Italian Grand Prix back in September.

Since then, Piastri’s lead in the championship standings has evaporated, with Lando Norris now 24 points clear with two rounds to go. Piastri will hope to take the title down to the wire in Abu Dhabi at least.

Speaking after sprint qualifying, Piastri said: “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. 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.”

Russell will join Piastri on the front row for the sprint after delivering another outstanding lap for Mercedes, while Norris will start third, having encountered traffic on his final lap.

Norris began his final lap in SQ3 too close to Williams’ Alex Albon, costing him throughout the run. Behind the top three, Fernando Alonso starred to secure fourth.

Yuki Tsunoda out-qualified teammate Max Verstappen for the first time this season. Verstappen complained about severe bouncing throughout qualifying.

Kimi Antonelli was seventh ahead of Carlos Sainz, while Charles Leclerc was the sole Ferrari inside the top 10 in ninth. Albon rounded out the SQ3 top 10.

It was another poor qualifying for Lewis Hamilton, who was knocked out in SQ1.