2025 Qatar Grand Prix

The event was held at the Lusail International Circuit in Lusail for the fourth time in the circuit's history, across the weekend of 28–30 November. The Grand Prix was the twenty-third round of the 2025 Formula One World Championship and the fourth running of the Qatar Grand Prix. It was also the sixth and final Grand Prix in the season to utilise the sprint format and the third time overall that the Qatar Grand Prix featured it. Championship standings before the race Going into the weekend, Lando Norris led the Drivers' Championship with 390 points, 24 points ahead of his teammate Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen, who were second and third, respectively. McLaren, who won the Constructors' Championship at the Singapore Grand Prix, led with 756 points ahead of Mercedes and Red Bull Racing, who were second and third with 431 and 391 points, respectively. Championship permutations World Drivers' Championship leader Lando Norris had an opportunity to secure his first title at this event, and McLaren's first Drivers' title since . Norris could have become World Drivers' Champion if he outscored both Piastri and Verstappen by two points over the weekend; the title could not be decided after the sprint. Entrants The drivers and teams were the same as published in the season entry list with two exceptions; Yuki Tsunoda at Red Bull Racing held the seat originally held by Liam Lawson before Lawson was demoted back to Racing Bulls from the Japanese Grand Prix onward, and Franco Colapinto replaced Jack Doohan at Alpine from the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix onward on a race-by-race basis. The Grand Prix marked Lando Norris' 151st race with McLaren, becoming the driver with the most races with the team. Tyre choices and limits Tyre supplier Pirelli brought the C1, C2, and C3 tyre compounds (the three hardest in their range) designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively, for teams to use at the event. A limit of 25 laps over the course of the race weekend for each set of tyres was introduced. As the Grand Prix was run for 57 laps, each driver was required to change tyres at least twice. Unlike the 2023 race, laps run under the safety car or virtual safety car counted towards the limit. Penalties Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) carried a five-place grid penalty for the main race for causing a collision with Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) at the preceding Las Vegas Grand Prix. == Practice ==

The only free practice session was held on 28 November 2025, at 16:30 local time (UTC+3), and was topped by Oscar Piastri ahead of his teammate Lando Norris (both McLaren) and Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin). == Sprint qualifying ==

Sprint qualifying was held on 28 November 2025, at 20:30 local time (UTC+3), and determined the starting grid order for the sprint. Sprint qualifying classification Notes • – Lance Stroll, Lewis Hamilton, Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto qualified 16th, 18th, 19th and 20th, respectively, but were required to start the sprint from the pit lane as their cars were modified under parc fermé conditions. ==Sprint==

The sprint was held on 29 November 2025, at 17:00 local time (UTC+3), and was run for 19 laps. Sprint classification Notes • – Yuki Tsunoda and Kimi Antonelli received a five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits. Their final positions were not affected by the penalty. ==Qualifying==

Qualifying was held on 29 November 2025, at 21:00 local time (UTC+3), and determined the starting grid order for the main race. Qualifying classification Notes • – Gabriel Bortoleto received a five-place grid penalty for causing a collision with Lance Stroll at the preceding Las Vegas Grand Prix. • – Franco Colapinto qualified 20th, but was required to start the race from the pit lane as his car was modified under parc fermé conditions. ==Race==

The race was held on 30 November 2025, at 19:00 local time (UTC+3), and was run for 57 laps. During the first pit stop, a slow stop for Antonelli caused himself and teammate Russell to lose track positions to Sainz and Hadjar, respectively. Ocon received a five-second time penalty for jumping the race start, and had to serve the penalty in the following lap. The three championship contenders (Piastri, Norris and Verstappen) all lined up in the top three in that order as of lap 11 when the safety car ended, with Verstappen being advised to nurse his tyres before Piastri and Norris took their first pit stops in lap 24 and 25, respectively, and maintained his gap to Norris. Piastri came in second place and Sainz rounded the podium, Post-race McLaren admitted they made the wrong decision regarding their strategy to not pit their drivers under the safety car. Following the Grand Prix, Norris retained his Drivers' Championship lead with 408 points. The gap between Norris and Verstappen decreased to 12 points, with Piastri 16 points behind Norris. The drivers remained in contention for the three-way title fight heading into the season finale in Abu Dhabi. In the Constructors' Championship, Williams secured their position in fifth place with 137 points, their best finish since 2016, ahead of Racing Bulls with 92 points in sixth. Meanwhile, Ferrari and Alpine also ensured their positions in the Constructors' Championship in fourth and tenth, respectively. Race classification Notes • – Lance Stroll and Isack Hadjar were classified as they completed more than 90% of the race distance. ==Championship standings after the race==

The result meant that Norris maintained his lead in the Drivers' Standings. Being outscored by his championship rivals, Norris could not secure the title in this event, so he went into the final round with a points advantage of twelve and sixteen points over Verstappen and Piastri, respectively. Verstappen's victory saw him move to second in the championship with Piastri dropping to third. As a consequence, it was the first time in 15 years that at least three drivers went into the final round of the season with a chance of winning the World Drivers' Championship. In the Constructors' Championship, McLaren remained on top with 800 points. Mercedes retained second place in the standings with 459 points, 33 clear of Red Bull in third. Mercedes would only need eleven points at the final race in Abu Dhabi to secure second in the Constructors' Championship. ;Drivers' Championship standings ;Constructors' Championship standings • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings. • Competitor marked in bold and with an asterisk still has a theoretical chance of becoming World Champion. == See also ==