2025 Qatar Grand Prix Sprint Qualifying Review

Linus O'Howell
4 hours ago
2 min read

The final Sprint Qualifying of 2025 was pretty critical in terms of setting up the momentum for the weekend ahead!

SQ1

In Sprint Qualifying 1, Lance Stroll, Liam Lawson, Lewis Hamilton, Pierre Gasly, and Franco Colapinto were the five slowest drivers! Lance Stroll will be very disappointed to have been knocked out in SQ1 given Aston Martin’s pace, whilst Liam Lawson didn’t do a good enough job either! Lewis Hamilton’s struggles only continue to grow with another SQ1 exit, whilst Alpine are seemingly back to being the slowest car, with Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto locking out the back row! Max Verstappen topped SQ1 for Red Bull, a tenth clear of the other Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso!

SQ2

In Sprint Qualifying 2, Isack Hadjar, Oliver Bearman, Gabriel Bortoleto, Nico Hulkenberg, and Esteban Ocon all failed to make it into the Top 10 shootout! Isack Hadjar looked to be safe and through to SQ3, but his final lap was deleted for track limits, whilst Oliver Bearman managed 12th for Haas! Gabriel Bortoleto managed to out-qualify Nico Hulkenberg in an all-Kick Sauber 7th Row, whilst Esteban Ocon ended up slowest in the second part of Sprint Qualifying! Lando Norris returned to the top of the times in SQ2, but McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri wasn’t too far behind in second!

SQ3

In Sprint Qualifying 3, a massive 1:20.005 was enough for Oscar Piastri to take a critical Pole Position ahead of tomorrow’s Qatar Sprint! This was a crucial lap for Oscar, and he needs to take full advantage by winning tomorrow! George Russell did a fantastic job to end up just 32 thousandths off Sprint Pole, whilst Lando Norris could only manage third after a mistake at the final corner! Fernando Alonso and Yuki Tsunoda will be delighted with 4th and 5th respectively, with Yuki actually out-qualifying teammate Max Verstappen, who was very annoyed with the balance of his Red Bull! Andrea Kimi Antonelli will start from 7th, ahead of a very happy Carlos Sainz, whilst Charles Leclerc and Alex Albon round out the Top 10!