Lando Norris secures pole position for the sixth and final sprint race of this Formula 1 season. The Briton in the McLaren leaves George Russell just behind in qualifying in Qatar.
After Max Verstappen's title crowning in Las Vegas, the remaining two Formula 1 weekends of the season will decide the Constructors' Championship. It will be very exciting. McLaren is in the lead with 608 points, followed by Ferrari with 584 and Red Bull with 555. However, Red Bull, with the old and new drivers' world champion, only has a slim chance of successfully defending the title. Despite the one-two victory in Las Vegas, first place is no longer possible for Mercedes.
By claiming his third pole position for a Formula 1 sprint race, Lando Norris has taken a small step towards the team championship title for McLaren. The Englishman, already beaten by Verstappen in the drivers' championship, was 63 thousandths faster on the decisive lap of qualifying for Saturday's shortened race (15:00) than his compatriot George Russell in the Mercedes, who won in Las Vegas.
Third place went to Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren. Only then did the two Ferraris with Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc line up. Verstappen, the winner of the first four sprint races this season, followed immediately behind. His Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez suffered another disappointment with 16th place on the grid.
For the Sauber team drivers, it is also likely to be difficult to achieve a countable result, i.e. a place in the top eight, in the last sprint race of the season. The Finn Valtteri Bottas will start from 13th place, while the Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu will only start from 19th position. Zhou's 9th place in Shanghai in April was the best sprint result for the Hinwil-based racing team so far this year.
SDA
