Lando Norris handed over the Qatar Grand Prix sprint race victory to Oscar Piastri as the McLaren star repaid his team-mate for a season of exemplary teamwork.
Norris held off the charge of Russell on the opening lap and a great start for Piastri allowed the Australian to swing around the Brit, making it a one-two for the Constructors’ Championship leaders.
Elsewhere, Lewis Hamilton, who was left despairing over his sprint shootout performance on Friday, made up two positions, while Max Verstappen, fresh from winning his fourth successive Drivers’ Championship title, slumped to P9 on the opening lap of the sprint.
Russell made an assault on P2 at the start of lap four, lunging down the inside of Piastri, but the Australian had no plans to yield the position, keeping his foot in the gas on the outside line. The Mercedes driver accused his rival of ‘turning in’, but his complaints fell on deaf ears.
With the Las Vegas Grand Prix winner hot on his team-mate’s tail, Norris backed off his pace to give Piastri DRS. This impressive teamwork proved to be the assistance the 23-year-old needed as he fended off Russell’s attacks.
Fans then got a glimpse of the Ferrari intra-team battle for 2025 as Hamilton and Charles Leclerc went wheel-to-wheel throughout the opening sector in a tantalising fight, with the Monegasque racer eventually coming out on top.
As the race grew older, Russell found himself running out of time to challenge Piastri, and as the frontrunners neared the finish line, Norris made a shock move, pulling aside to let his team-mate take the victory in a classy payback for the Australian’s selfless move in Sao Paulo.
