DOHA — McLaren’s Lando Norris took pole position for the Qatar Grand Prix sprint with Mercedes’ George Russell denying the Formula One leaders a front row lockout by pushing Oscar Piastri down to third.
McLaren are leading Ferrari in the championship by 24 points with two rounds remaining and a first constructors’ title since 1998 tantalisingly close.
Norris lapped the floodlit Lusail circuit with a best time of one minute 21.012 seconds with Russell 0.063 slower and Australian Piastri, last year’s sprint winner in Qatar, 0.159 off the pace.
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz qualified fourth with team mate Charles Leclerc fifth and newly-crowned four-times champion Max Verstappen sixth for Red Bull and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton seventh.
Verstappen’s team mate Sergio Perez qualified only 16th, the latest in a string of disappointing performances by the struggling Mexican.
Yuki Tsunoda has taken a big step in Formula One this year and is ready for a bigger team and a faster car, his RB boss Laurent Mekies said with the Japanese set for a post-season test at Red Bull.
The test will be the driver’s first with a team who have previously seemed sceptical of his character but could now be looking to replace Mexican Sergio Perez alongside four-times champion Max Verstappen.
“I think he has made a step this season that nobody could forecast and it’s something he should be proud of,” said Mekies, whose team have historically served as a feeder for the main Red Bull outfit.
“Of course I think he’s ready to get a faster car. We are hoping to provide him with this faster car, but of course I think he’s ready for a faster car and a faster team or a bigger team,” he continued according to Reuters.
“It’s one of our key DNA aspects for this team to be able to grow our drivers and to make them attractive enough so that Red Bull Racing want to have them.
“So we are very happy that you have this test and I’m confident he will perform well.”
Tsunoda has scored 30 of RB’s 46 points this season, providing the backbone of a team that replaced Australian Daniel Ricciardo after Singapore in September and brought in New Zealand’s Liam Lawson.
Lawson has yet to be told which Red Bull team he will be driving for in 2025.
“All I can tell you is that the steps he (Tsunoda) has been doing this year have been a surprise to everyone and hopefully the surprise has also been for Red Bull Racing,” said Mekies.
“We are in a business where everybody looks at the results and the second a driver starts to perform or to outperform compared to the expectations, then everybody will then change their opinions very, very fast.
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