McLaren’s Oscar Piastri claimed victory in the Qatar Grand Prix sprint race on Saturday, starting from pole and securing his third consecutive sprint win. The result trims teammate Lando Norris’s Formula One championship lead to 22 points.

Mercedes’ George Russell finished second, 4.951 seconds behind the Australian, while Norris came in third and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen fourth. This marks Piastri’s first win of any kind since the Dutch Grand Prix at the end of August.

With the sprint complete, Norris leads the championship with 396 points, Piastri sits on 374, and Verstappen is close behind on 371, with 50 points still up for grabs.

Qualifying for the main Grand Prix takes place later today, keeping Norris in contention for his first Formula One title.

“I think the last couple of weekends have just been about things going wrong rather than a lack of pace,” Piastri said after 19 laps under the Lusail floodlights. “Here, everything’s gone smoothly so far, and the pace has been strong. It’s a track I’ve enjoyed in the past, and I’m enjoying it again, clearly.”

Norris had warned ahead of the sprint that overtaking would be difficult, and his concerns were confirmed on track. “It’s going to be a tough race tomorrow… it’s not easy to pass around here, it’s too difficult, so it’s all about qualifying,” he said.

Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda finished fifth after making way for Verstappen on the opening lap, while Mercedes’ Kimi Räikkönen came sixth following a five-second penalty for a track limits violation that dropped him one position.

Fernando Alonso secured seventh for Aston Martin after starting fourth, and Carlos Sainz rounded out the top eight for Williams.

Piastri dominated the sprint from the start, never challenged, with Russell and Norris narrowly avoiding contact in the opening corner. Verstappen, meanwhile, struggled again with the bouncing that affected him in qualifying but managed to climb two positions from his starting spot.