Piastri won the sprint race at the Qatar GP to close the gap on F1 leader Norris

LOSALE, Qatar – Oscar Pastry won the Qatar Grand Prix sprint race from pole position on Saturday and moved 22 points behind McLaren teammate Lando Norris into Sunday’s main Formula 1 race.

Piastri’s sprint win gave him eight points, seven with Mercedes driver Jorge Russell in second place. Championship leader Norris took six points to finish third, and Verstappen gained five to finish fourth.

“Yes, the car was nice,” Pastry said. “Let’s keep it going.”

Norris started the sprint from third on the grid and Verstappen from sixth. The Dutchman was passed by his Red Bull team-mate Yuki Sonoda on the first lap but could not get close enough to pressure Norris.

Heading into Sunday’s final race of the season, Norris had 396 points, Pastry 374 and Verstappen 371.

Norris needs to finish four points ahead of Pastry on Sunday to win his first F1 title – as long as he is one point ahead of Verstappen, who is chasing a fifth straight F1 crown.

There is a Saturday night qualifying session for Sunday’s race.

“It’s going to be a tough race tomorrow but it’s not easy to get through here,” said the 26-year-old Norris. “So it’s all about talent. I’m looking forward to it.”

Verstappen had complained of bouncing and understeer on his Red Bull on Friday, and the problems continued.

“The bouncing is still pretty bad,” Verstappen said four laps into Saturday’s sprint.

Sonoda moved ahead of Kami Antonelli in fifth place, both with five-second penalties for going outside the track’s boundaries a maximum of three times.

Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso scored two points in seventh and Williams driver Carlos Sainz collected one point in eighth.

Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton’s slide continued as he placed 17th. He started from the pit lane after a rear wing change.

The F1 season ends on December 7 in Abu Dhabi.

Verstappen has won the last two races in Qatar and four of the last five in Abu Dhabi.

Piastri has not won at the Dutch GP since the last day of August and the 24-year-old Australian has no podium in the last six F1 races, apart from Saturday’s sprint.

Verstappen’s title chances have been boosted following the disqualification of both McLaren drivers following last Sunday’s Las Vegas GP, which Verstappen won.

Race strategy in Qatar will be tough to implement as teams have two mandatory pit stops, a measure imposed on safety grounds due to the high risk of tire damage on the 5.4-kilometre (3.3-mile) Lusail International Circuit.

Pirelli tires are limited to a maximum of 25 laps in the 57-lap race, which features the fastest cars.