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Oscar Piastri strengthened his late-season cost in direction of the Drivers’ title by taking pole for the Qatar Grand Prix. He ended his Saturday with a peaceful, decisive lap that stored Lando Norris and Max Verstappen behind him. Nevertheless, the second of the day got here off the observe when Novak Djokovic offered the Dash trophy.
The McLaren driver has been quick in each session at Lusail, and his outcome now units up a direct combat between the championship’s entrance three – Norris on 396 factors, Piastri on 374, and Verstappen on 371.
Piastri later posted the photograph with the tennis star on his Instagram story and tagged Djokovic:
“🤝@djokernole”


Oscar Piastri has dominated all weekend. He topped observe, managed Dash qualifying, and received the Dash cleanly from the entrance earlier than closing out the evening with a scientific Grand Prix pole. A second Instagram put up adopted quickly after. Piastri uploaded a photograph displaying all of the trophies he’d earned to this point at Lusail, writing:
“That was quite a lot of enjoyable.”
The weekend has belonged to McLaren. Piastri topped observe, grabbed the Dash pole, and transformed it right into a Dash win earlier within the day. Norris stayed shut all through, however the Australian held observe place every time it mattered. Verstappen begins behind each McLarens, with the 2 Mercedes automobiles rounding out the highest 5.
In the meantime, Novak Djokovic has been making his presence felt across the paddock as a worldwide ambassador for Qatar Airways. He was seen working towards yoga, biking across the venue, and greeting followers all through the day.
“If it ain’t broke, don’t repair it!”: Oscar Piastri edges previous Lando Norris in qualifying at Lusail


Oscar Piastri’s qualifying effort was rooted in readability. He opened Q1 with a 1m 20.739s on used tires, instantly setting the tone. Whereas George Russell briefly moved forward later within the phase, Piastri by no means appeared unsettled. As grip elevated, so did his confidence.
Q2 was even stronger. He returned to the highest comfortably, two-tenths away from Lando Norris, as each McLarens dealt with the high-grip, low-floor calls for of Lusail with ease. Max Verstappen trimmed the hole however by no means actually threatened the papaya automobiles.
In Q3, Norris took provisional pole, however a large second at Flip 2 on his final try opened a door the Australian walked straight by means of. Piastri’s 1m 19.387s was sufficient to safe probably the most vital poles of his profession. After the session, he summed it up, through Sky Sports activities:
“We left the automobile just about the identical. All the pieces felt nice all weekend. If it ain’t broke, do not repair it… We had a query mark on which tires to make use of as a result of I did a fast lap on the used tires in Q2, however Q3 was superb on the brand new tires, so I am very pleased. With the 2 stops tomorrow, we can be pushing exhausting the entire time. Will probably be a tricky race.”
Piastri’s Saturday run additionally resets his private type. Since profitable the Dutch GP in August, Oscar Piastri had missed the rostrum for six straight weekends. Now he arrives again within the combine on Sunday at crucial second of the season.
Edited by Hitesh Nigam
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