Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris bag McLaren a front-row lockout for the sprint race in Qatar

McLaren rookie driver Oscar Piastri stormed to take the pole position for the sprint shoot-out in the Qatar GP, ahead of his teammate Lando Norris. The Papaya boys have locked out the front row for the sprint race scheduled on Saturday evening.

After a disappointing outing in Friday's qualifying session where both McLaren drivers got their lap times deleted, the duo quickly turned around their weekend during Saturday's sprint shootout. Qatar GP polesitter Max Verstappen could only manage the third-quickest time.

Oscar Piastri was jubilant with his efforts as he secured his first-ever pole position in his F1 career. Qualifying second, Lando Norris helped secure the first front-row lockout for McLaren in the last decade. The Brit driver was quicker than his teammate throughout the session but a mistake in the final corner cost him the pole position.

“Very happy, I might just give the FIA five minutes to make sure I’m on pole! ” Oscar Piastri jokingly said in the parc-ferme interview. “Pretty good lap, I saw Lando made a mistake on the last corner but no, very happy! Struggled a bit in the first two parts but then got my act together for the last one.”

When asked if he could seal the sprint victory for McLaren, he added:

“Max is only starting third, he’s not a million miles away. We’ll try our best and see what we can pull off.”

With the pace the MCL60 has exhibited around the Lusail International Circuit, both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris are a real threat to win the race ahead of Max Verstappen.

Verstappen more importantly will seal the 2023 F1 Drivers' championship if he manages to score three points in the sprint race by finishing sixth or better.

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Full starting lineup for the Qatar GP Sprint as Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris lock out the front row

Like Friday's qualifying session, many drivers fell prey to the track limits, as they struggled to keep within the white lines of the track. Lance Stroll was once again knocked out in the SQ1 session.

The SQ2 session provided the first major upset of the session as Lewis Hamilton was knocked out in this session. Although Hamilton had his lap time deleted his time on the board wasn't quick enough to advance into the final round.

The final session witnessed many drivers exceed track limits including Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen, and Fernando Alonso. Verstappen got his first lap deleted and was thus relegated to third position for the sprint race.

McLaren duo Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris were not troubled by the track limits as they topped the charts.

Here is the full starting lineup for the sprint race:

1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
2. Lando Norris (McLaren)
3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
4. George Russell (Mercedes)
5. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
6. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
7. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)
8. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
9. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
10. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
11. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
12. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
13. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)
14. Liam Lawson (Alpha Tauri)
15. Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo)
16. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
17. Alex Albon (Williams)
18. Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri)
19. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
20. Logan Sargeant (Williams)

The Sprint race starts at 17:30 UTC (13:30 ET), on Saturday, October 7.