Race report
Formula 1 Qatar GP
F1 Qatar GP: Norris gifts Piastri sprint race win as McLaren nears title
Norris gave up on sprint win in Qatar as a thank you for Piastri doing likewise at Interlagos
Jake Boxall-Legge
Edited: Nov 30, 2024, 3:32 PM
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Oscar Piastri, McLaren F1 Team, 1st position, Zak Brown, CEO, McLaren Racing, and Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, 2nd position, celebrate after the Sprint
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Oscar Piastri was gifted the Qatar Grand Prix sprint victory by Lando Norris, who controlled the race with a tactical drive to boost McLaren's chances of sealing Formula 1's constructors' championship.
Norris ensured Piastri remained second by staying within DRS range, which allowed the Australian to repel an effervescent George Russell throughout the 19-lap race.
Having looked to have sealed the victory, Norris then let Piastri through at the finish line to allow his younger team-mate to claim the sprint win - and admitted that he'd long planned to pay Piastri back for giving up the sprint win in Brazil.
Norris had shrugged off the pressure of starting from pole and led the way in Turn 1, leaving fellow front-row starter Russell in the clutches of Piastri; the Melburnian hung his McLaren around the outside and held the favoured line for Turn 2 to complete the move.
With Norris slinking off into an early lead, Piastri came under renewed pressure from Russell when the Mercedes driver collected DRS. This prompted Piastri to defend at the start of the third and fourth laps, to the Las Vegas winner's chagrin.
Norris then backed off to keep Piastri in DRS range, ensuring that the #81 car had more tools to contain Russell over the rest of the race.
It got to a point where Norris admitted to struggling with his front tyres, and asked if he should continue to help Piastri stay in his wake; McLaren responded in the affirmative, and thus Norris continued to aid McLaren's claim to a 1-2 finish.
Piastri didn't manage to get DRS in the final lap, which opened him up to a final Russell assault, but the eventual winner held firm - and then moved past a slowing Norris at the line to pick up the win.
Russell had Carlos Sainz behind him throughout the race, although the Ferrari driver was locked in the DRS train and unable to interlope on the battle for a top-three finish.
Charles Leclerc wrested fifth from Lewis Hamilton with an impressive move at the start of lap 13, in which the Monegasque gathered pace with DRS and went down the inside into Turn 1.
Hamilton held on around the outside and looked to have defended with the inside line into Turn 2, but Leclerc kept his foot in and steamed around the outside to garner the upper hand into the next corner.
Nico Hulkenberg got valuable points on the board for Haas with seventh, as 2024 champion Max Verstappen finished eighth; the Red Bull driver was wayward in the opening lap and got passed by a fast-starting Hamilton, Hulkenberg and Gasly after suffering with oversteer.
Verstappen reclaimed the final point from Gasly ahead of the race's halfway point, but could make no inroads into Hulkenberg. Gasly finished just under a second clear of Kevin Magnussen, who made a stunning getaway off the line to convert 15th into 10th.
Zhou Guanyu and Sergio Perez were the only stoppers in the race; the Chinese driver's soft-tyre gamble did not pay off, while Perez was slow to get away from his pitlane start and was passed by fellow slow-lane occupant Franco Colapinto on the pit exit. The Mexican then stopped for a new front wing after spending the early laps stuck at the back.
Main Information Additional Data Additional Data Driver Info Driver Info
1
-
5
Main Information Additional Data
1
-
2
Cla Driver # Laps Time Interval km/h Pits Points Retirement Chassis Engine 1 O. Piastri McLaren 81
19
27'03.010
227.774 8 McLaren Mercedes 2 L. Norris McLaren 4
19
+0.136
27'03.146
0.136 227.755 7 McLaren Mercedes 3 G. Russell Mercedes 63
19
+0.410
27'03.420
0.274 227.717 6 Mercedes Mercedes 4 C. Sainz Ferrari 55
19
+1.326
27'04.336
0.916 227.588 5 Ferrari Ferrari 5 C. Leclerc Ferrari 16
19
+5.073
27'08.083
3.747 227.064 4 Ferrari Ferrari 6 L. Hamilton Mercedes 44
19
+5.650
27'08.660
0.577 226.984 3 Mercedes Mercedes 7 N. Hulkenberg Haas F1 Team 27
19
+8.508
27'11.518
2.858 226.586 2 Haas Ferrari 8 M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1
19
+10.368
27'13.378
1.860 226.328 1 Red Bull Red Bull 9 P. Gasly Alpine 10
19
+14.513
27'17.523
4.145 225.755 Alpine Renault 10 K. Magnussen Haas F1 Team 20
19
+15.485
27'18.495
0.972 225.621 Haas Ferrari 11 F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing 14
19
+19.204
27'22.214
3.719 225.110 Aston Martin Mercedes 12 V. Bottas Sauber 77
19
+23.351
27'26.361
4.147 224.543 Sauber Ferrari 13 L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing 18
19
+24.421
27'27.431
1.070 224.398 Aston Martin Mercedes 14 E. Ocon Alpine 31
19
+30.379
27'33.389
5.958 223.589 Alpine Renault 15 A. Albon Williams 23
19
+33.062
27'36.072
2.683 223.227 Williams Mercedes 16 L. Lawson RB 30
19
+34.356
27'37.366
1.294 223.052 RB Red Bull 17 Y. Tsunoda RB 22
19
+35.102
27'38.112
0.746 222.952 RB Red Bull 18 F. Colapinto Williams 43
19
+35.639
27'38.649
0.537 222.880 Williams Mercedes 19 Z. Guanyu Sauber 24
19
+1'11.436
28'14.446
35.797 218.171 1 Sauber Ferrari 20 S. Perez Red Bull Racing 11
19
+1'14.371
28'17.381
2.935 217.794 1 Red Bull Red Bull View full results
Photos from Qatar GP Sprint Race
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
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2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Saturday
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