Norris on Qatar sprint race pole ahead of Russell

McLaren’s Lando Norris took pole position for the sprint race at the Qatar Grand Prix ahead of Mercedes driver George Russell.

Norris pipped Russell by just 0.063 seconds, with the second McLaren of Oscar Piastri in third place.

Ferrari, who are competing with McLaren for the constructors’ championship, were fourth and fifth, Carlos Sainz 0.027secs faster than Charles Leclerc.

Newly crowned world champion Max Verstappen was only sixth, ahead of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton.

Norris said: “It’s tough because it’s so quick around here, it feels like the quickest circuit of the year, the final sector feels like you’re just hanging on.

“Great qualifying, especially to bounce back after where we were in Vegas last weekend.”

Norris’ hopes of beating Verstappen to the drivers’ title were finally extinguished in Las Vegas on a disappointing weekend for McLaren.

But they head into the final two races of the season 25 points ahead of of Ferrari in the constructors’ championship.

McLaren can win the title the weekend – but only if they score the maximum points possible. That would require a one-two in Saturday’s sprint, which starts at 14:00 UK time, to start the weekend.

“Our target is a one-two,” Norris said, “and maximise points for the constructors’ but not expecting an easy one.”

Russell’s strong form from Las Vegas, where he took his second win of the season with a dominant performance, continued on to a very different track in a very different desert.

“Felt really strong all session,” Russell said. “The car was really great and this circuit is one of the best when you get into that groove and rhythm. It’s so fast.

“I went flat through the high-speed for the first time and confused the engine a bit. Had a big recharge out of it because it went through flat. A bit annoying because I lost a chunk on the exit but I still think Lando was a bit out of reach.”

Ferrari’s concern that McLaren might be too strong for them in Qatar appeared to be coming true – Sainz was 0.269secs off the pace set by Norris.

Leclerc, who had been fastest by a significant margin in practice earlier in the day, said: “Not good because when you give it all and we are only P4 and P5 it’s not great considering how important this weekend is for us.

“P1 was a lot above our expectations, this is in line with what we expected. We are coming back to reality. There were hopes we could do something better but we didn’t.”

Verstappen, whose only victory since June came in the wet in Brazil earlier this month, was 0.303secs off the pace.

“Just no pace, to be honest,” Verstappen said. “Didn’t have the balance to attack entry to mid-corner. The very high speed is OK but the rest is not and it makes it difficult to push.

And Hamilton’s qualifying struggles continued – he was 0.399secs slower than Russell.

“Same as every other qualifying – not that great,” the seven-time champion said. “I’m just slow. Same every weekend. Car felt relatively decent, no issues. Not much more to say.”

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg and RB’s Liam Lawson completed the top 10.

The second Red Bull driver Sergio Perez was knocked out in the first session and will start 16th. The Mexican, who has been knocked out in Q1 six times this year, blamed a fight over track position with Leclerc for his failure.