Qatar GP Sprint Qualifying: Oscar Piastri takes pole with Lando Norris third, Max Verstappen sixth

Oscar Piastri claimed pole position for the Qatar Grand Prix Sprint as his title rivals Lando Norris and Max Verstappen had to settle for third and sixth, respectively.

Piastri produced a strong display at the Lusail International Circuit to edge out Mercedes' George Russell for pole by just three hundredths of a second, while championship leader Norris was two tenths back after making an error on his second flying lap in SQ3.

Verstappen made an error on his first attempt at a flying lap in SQ3 and was then outpaced by Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso and his Red Bull team-mate Yuki Tsunoda, who outqualified the Dutchman for the first time this season.

Norris is 24 points clear of both his McLaren team-mate Piastri and Red Bull's Verstappen going into Saturday's Sprint at the penultimate round of the season, and will seal the title on Sunday if he is at least 26 points ahead in the standings.

Piastri's performance, which followed him topping the weekend's sole practice session earlier on Friday, ended a poor run of qualifying form that had seen him outpaced by Norris over one lap on six successive occasions.

The Australian was the clear favourite for the title when he led Norris by 34 points after the Dutch Grand Prix in August, but a run of six successive grands prix without a podium have left him with what he described on Thursday as just an "outside shot" of catching his team-mate.

After reigniting his hopes on Friday, Piastri said: "It has been a good day, which is nice for a change. Things clicked from the start, so thanks to the team. It has looked good this weekend so far.

"There are a few things to tidy up, which is nice to say on pole. It's only Sprint pole but I will take whatever I can get.

"Sprint weekends are tough to know if you are fully on top of things but it felt good all day and we made good adjustments before Qualifying. The pace was there all day."

Lewis Hamilton's woeful debut campaign with Ferrari continued as the seven-time world champion made a tame exit in SQ1 that leaves him starting 18th on the grid.

More to follow...

Saturday November 291pm: Qatar GP Sprint build-up*2pm: QATAR GP SPRINT*3.30pm: Ted's Sprint Notebook*4.15pm: F2 Sprint5.15pm: Qatar GP Qualifying build-up6pm: QATAR GP QUALIFYING8pm: Ted's Qualifying Notebook

Sunday November 3011.55am: F2 Feature2.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Qatar GP build-up4pm: THE QATAR GRAND PRIX6pm: Chequered Flag: Qatar GP reaction7pm: Ted's Notebook

*also on Sky Sports Main Event

Formula 1's season-ending triple header continues with the Qatar Grand Prix Sprint weekend live on Sky Sports F1 from Friday. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime