 "Oscar Piastri has taken the sprint race pole at Qatar Grand Prix while leader Lando Norris is third. Image: Reuters")
Second-placed Oscar Piastri has taken a big step forward to cut down McLaren teammate Lando Norris’s 24-point lead in the Formula 1 2025 Driver Championship race after qualifying on pole position for the Qatar sprint race on Friday. Norris will start the sprint race in third position, while Max Verstappen, who is level on points with Piastri in the standings, will start the race from sixth.
The drivers can still earn 58 points in the championship race before the season ends. Eight points can be earned from the 100km sprint race during the final two rounds in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
Norris: ‘I’m doing an incredibly good job’
Meanwhile, Norris put up a brave face before the start of the weekend in Qatar, stating he wants to win the F1 Driver Championship without any mind games.
“Some people choose to be a dick and therefore things go wrong, and things go wrong for the team,” the 26-year-old Norris said.
“If I want to act like other people have done in the past, it’s quite easy… I don’t want to, that’s not me, I don’t enjoy doing that.
“That’s also not how I want to try and win, or win a championship or win a race. You have to be overly selfish for that and not care about the people you work with but I care about the people I work with.”
Norris added he has been doing a great job as a driver and those booing him have only helped him become mentally stronger.
“I know I’m fighting equally with my teammate even though everyone says it’s not the case,” he said. “I’m very happy that I’m doing an incredibly good job. I feel like I’ve stepped up when it counts, when I’ve needed to.
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View All“Max used to be the biggest guy that got boos. Lewis (Hamilton) several years ago, all he used to do was get booed. Hopefully now it’s my time because that’s normally a good thing.
“I know I’ve just been doing a very good job. I’ve been doing a better job than everyone else and I’m very happy with that.”