Oscar Piastri didn’t hold back his reaction after taking pole position for the Qatar Grand Prix ahead of teammate and championship rival Lando Norris.
With just two races left on the 2025 Formula One calendar, the tension on top of the Drivers’ Championship table has reached the boiling point at the Lusail International Circuit in Qatar.
After claiming pole position for the sprint race, Piastri asserted himself as a real contendor for the title by winning the sprint ahead of the qualifying session for the main race.
McLaren teammate Norris appeared poised to bounce back during qualifying as he appeared to be the fastest car on track with a formidable lap time of 1:19.495.
However, Norris quickly saw his provisional pole position snatched away by Piastri in the final moments of the session, and the Australian’s reaction summed up exactly how he feels about his impressive weekend.
Oscar Piastri is looking to win his first F1 world title. Image: Getty
Heading into the Qatar Grand Prix, both Piastri and reigning champion Max Verstappen were 24 points behind championship leader Norris, meaning they need to be nearly flawless in the final races of the season if they hope to win the title.
After winning the sprint race, with Norris down in P3, Piastri narrowed the gap to his teammate to 22 points and his pole position lap in Saturday’s qualifying has put him in a strong position to further reduce the deficit during Sunday’s race.
When told by race engineer Tom Stallard that he had clinched pole, Piastri succinctly summed up his feelings, replying: “Let’s go baby!”
After Piastri crossed the line with his pole setting lap, it was expected that Norris would make one more attempt to secure a first-place start for Sunday’s race.
However, shortly after Piastri set his time, Norris suddenly aborted his final lap, all but confirming Piastri’s place on pole.
Explaining Norris’ sudden stop, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella told Sky Sports: “He didn’t go actually off track but in corner two he was about to go [off] so he needed to back off and brake to avoid going off track.
“So at that stage the lap was just gone. Corner one was good but the attempt didn’t last very [long].”
Piastri will start the Qatar GP on pole. (Image: Mark Sutton – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)
Reacting to his own performance, Norris remained upbeat ahead of the main race on Sunday afternoon, saying: “I don’t know, I just had a bit of understeer and was going to go off so I had to abort. Which was a shame, but it’s the way that it is.
“Oscar did a good lap, drove very well and has been driving well all weekend. Nothing to complain about, just didn’t do the lap, and still P2 for tomorrow.”
