Piastri wins sprint race at Qatar GP to close gap on F1 leader Norris to 22 points

LUSAIL, Qatar (AP) – Oscar Piastri won the Qatar Grand Prix sprint race from pole position Saturday to move 22 points behind McLaren teammate Lando Norris heading into Sunday’s main Formula 1 race.

Piastri’s sprint win gave him eight points with seven going to Mercedes driver George Russell in second place. The championship leader Norris took six points for his third-place finish, and Verstappen got five for finishing fourth.

“Yeah, car was good,” Piastri said. “Let’s keep it going.”

Norris started the sprint from third on the grid and Verstappen from sixth. The Dutchman was let through by his Red Bull teammate Yuki Tsunoda on the first lap but could not get close enough to pressure Norris.

Heading into Sunday’s penultimate race of the season, Norris had 396 points, Piastri 374 and Verstappen 371.

Norris needs to finish four points ahead of Piastri on Sunday to clinch his first F1 title – as long as he is also one point ahead of Verstappen, who is chasing a fifth straight F1 crown.

There is a night-time qualifying session later Saturday for Sunday’s race.

“It’s going to be a tough race tomorrow but it’s not easy to pass around here,” the 26-year-old Norris said. “So it’s all about qualifying. I’m looking forward to it.”

Verstappen had complained of bouncing and understeer on his Red Bull on Friday, and the problems persisted.

“The bouncing’s still very bad,” Verstappen said four laps into Saturday’s sprint.

Tsunoda finished fifth ahead of Kimi Antonelli, with both getting five-second time penalties for going off track limits more than the maximum three times.

Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso got two points in seventh and Williams driver Carlos Sainz collected one point in eighth.

Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton’s slide continued when he placed 17th. He started from the pit lane after a rear wing change.

The F1 season concludes on Dec. 7 in Abu Dhabi.

Verstappen has won the last two races in Qatar and four of the last five in Abu Dhabi.

Piastri has not won since the final day of August at the Dutch GP and the 24-year-old Australian has no podiums in the past six F1 races, excluding Saturday’s sprint.

Verstappen’s title chances increased after the disqualification of both McLaren drivers following last Sunday’s Las Vegas GP, which Verstappen won.

Race strategy in Qatar will be harder to impose given that teams have two mandatory pit stops, a measure imposed on safety grounds due to a high risk of tire degradation at the 5.4-kilometer (3.3-mile) Lusail International Circuit.

Pirelli tires are restricted to a maximum of 25 laps in the 57-lap race, which features high-speed corners.