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11/28 12:54 CST Piastri takes pole for Qatar GP sprint race with Norris third and Verstappen sixth Piastri takes pole for Qatar GP sprint race with Norris third and Verstappen sixth LUSAIL, Qatar (AP) --- Oscar Piastri took pole position for the Qatar Grand Prix sprint race on Friday, pushing his McLaren teammate Lando Norris into third place. A disgruntled Max Verstappen qualified only sixth. Norris holds a 24-point lead in Formula 1 over both men, and may well be relieved that Verstappen will start Saturday's sprint race behind him. The winner gets eight points with the top eight scoring points. "A day when things clicked," said Piastri, whose form has nosedived in the second part of the season. "It's nice to be back." In-form Mercedes driver George Russell found a late burst to qualify second. Two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso was fourth and Yuki Tsunoda --- Verstappen's Red Bull teammate --- was fifth in a season where he has struggled badly. Verstappen was frustrated throughout the sprint qualifying. He complained of understeer and also said his car was bouncing, a problem he encountered earlier Friday in the race's only practice session. Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton's miserable form continued when he was eliminated from SQ1, the first part of sprint qualifying. Saturday's 19-lap sprint is followed by night-time qualifying for the main race on Sunday, the penultimate race of the season.

Norris still in control Although Verstappen's brilliant comeback in recent weeks has given the Dutchman a glimpse of a fifth straight crown, Norris has a good lead and can seal his first F1 title on Sunday. Verstappen's 69 race wins put him third all-time behind Michael Schumacher (91) and Lewis Hamilton (105). The dynamic Dutchman is already considered one of the best F1 drivers ever and his late charge this season was aided by the disqualification of both McLaren drivers following the Las Vegas GP last Sunday, a race he won. Norris lost the 18 points he earned from crossing the line in second place, and Piastri the 12 from initially placing fourth. "Of course it hurts. But actually I found it quite easy just to move on," said Norris, who this season found himself lagging behind a dominant Piastri. "I feel as relaxed as I was before, when I was 35 points behind (Piastri), and I feel the same when I'm 24 points ahead." Norris will clinch the F1 title if he scores at least two more points than Verstappen and Piastri across the weekend. Race strategy will be harder to impose given that teams have two mandatory pit stops in Qatar, 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. McLaren's penalty in Vegas hurt Norris, who won the two previous races, more than Piastri. He inadvertently closed the gap on Norris, having finished six points behind him in that race before the DQ. But Piastri has not won since the final day of August at the Dutch GP and has no podiums in the past six races. Verstappen has won the last two races in Qatar and four of the last five in Abu Dhabi, where the season will end the following Sunday. "Hopefully we can make it exciting to the end," he said.

McLarens lead practice Piastri topped the practice session, placing ahead of Norris with Verstappen in sixth. Verstappen also complained over the team radio that his car lacked pace coming out of Turn 6.

Late-night drama in Las Vegas After the floodlit Las Vegas race, the FIA summoned McLaren to race stewards for failing inspection. They deemed that the measured thickness on the skid wear --- the wear on the protective plank on the underside of the cars --- failed to meet the minimum requirements on both cars. Norris went from 30 points up on Piastri and 42 up on Verstappen to 24 up on both rivals (390-366). Piastri holds the tie-breaker for second in the standings based on his win total compared to Verstappen (7-6).

Flagging Ferrari Ferrari needs a strong finish to the season after being on the receiving end of criticism from executive chairman John Elkann. Hamilton has struggled this season and the champion's performances have been below expectations. "I feel terrible," Hamilton said after Las Vegas, where he recorded his worst ever qualifying performance by finishing 20th. Aside from clinching a sprint race in China in March, the 40-year-old Briton has not won for Ferrari. Charles Leclerc has not won a race, either, having won three with Ferrari in 2024. But the Monaco driver leads Hamilton 7-0 in podiums and comfortably in the standings. Leclerc is fifth with 226 points, while his teammate is sixth with 152, only 15 points ahead of Kimi Antonelli, his 19-year-old replacement at Mercedes. -__ AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing