The 2025 Qatar Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Qatar Airways Qatar Grand Prix 2025) was a Formula One motor race held on 30 November 2025 at the Lusail International Circuit in Lusail, Qatar. It was the twenty-third and penultimate race of the 2025 Formula One World Championship, and the sixth and final Grand Prix weekend of the season to utilise the sprint format. Tyre supplier Pirelli elected to enforce a 25-lap limit on tyres across the weekend, similar to the limit placed at the 2023 edition of the race.
Championship leader Lando Norris (McLaren) came into the round with an opportunity to secure his maiden title, his team's first Drivers' title since . Teammate Oscar Piastri (McLaren) converted pole position for the sprint to a win, and also took pole position for the main race. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) won the main race from third on the grid, followed by Piastri and Carlos Sainz Jr. (Williams), the latter becoming the first Williams driver to score multiple podiums in a season since . Norris finished in second in the sprint and fourth in the Grand Prix.
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. 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.
Background 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 report As with regular qualifying, the sprint qualifying consisted of three sessions, with the five drivers with the worst lap times being eliminated following each of the first two sessions. For the first two sessions, new medium tyres were mandated, while the third and final session allowed teams to use any set of soft tyres.
During the twelve-minute long first session (SQ1), Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto (both Alpine) were eliminated, in addition to Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls), and Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari). The second session (SQ2), which lasted for ten minutes, saw the eliminations of Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon (both Haas), Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hülkenberg (both Sauber), and Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls).
The third session (SQ3) lasted for eight minutes, and determined the final order of the remaining ten drivers. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) took pole position ahead of George Russell (Mercedes) in second, and Piastri's teammate Lando Norris in third. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) and Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) finished in fourth and fifth, respectively, both recording their highest starting positions of the season. Max Verstappen, who found himself behind a teammate in any competitive session for the first time since the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Kimi Antonelli, Carlos Sainz Jr., Charles Leclerc, and Alexander Albon completed the rest of the top ten.
Sprint qualifying classification DriverConstructorSprintgridSQ1SQ2SQ3181 Oscar PiastriMcLaren-Mercedes1:21.2861:21.0051:20.0551263 George RussellMercedes1:21.4321:21.1361:20.087234 Lando NorrisMcLaren-Mercedes1:21.3981:20.9561:20.2853414 Fernando Alonso1:21.2761:21.2721:20.4504522 Yuki TsunodaRed Bull Racing-Honda RBPT1:21.4581:21.1521:20.519561 Max VerstappenRed Bull Racing-Honda RBPT1:21.1721:21.0361:20.5286712 Kimi AntonelliMercedes1:21.5551:21.3761:20.53278 55 Carlos Sainz Jr.Williams-Mercedes1:21.4381:21.1721:20.5428916 Charles LeclercFerrari1:21.6361:21.1901:20.62291023 Alexander AlbonWilliams-Mercedes1:21.7211:21.2121:20.78810116 Isack HadjarRacing Bulls-Honda RBPT1:21.3991:21.433N/A111287 Oliver BearmanHaas-Ferrari1:21.5261:21.494N/A12135Kick Sauber-Ferrari1:21.6231:21.567N/A131427 Nico HülkenbergKick Sauber-Ferrari1:21.3271:21.631N/A1415 31 Esteban OconHaas-Ferrari1:21.7731:21.666N/A151618 Lance Stroll1:21.807N/AN/A1730 Liam LawsonRacing Bulls-Honda RBPT1:21.851N/AN/A161844 Lewis HamiltonFerrari1:22.043N/AN/A1910 Pierre GaslyAlpine-Renault1:22.112N/AN/A2043Alpine-Renault1:22.364N/AN/A107% time: 1:26.854Source: 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 DriverConstructorTime/RetiredPoints 181 Oscar Piastri McLaren-Mercedes19 26:51.03318263 George Russell Mercedes19 +4.95127 34 Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes19 +6.2793641 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT19 +9.05465522 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT19 +19.3275 4 612 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes19 +21.39173 714 19 +24.55642855 Carlos Sainz Jr. Williams-Mercedes19 +27.3338196 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT19 +28.20611 1023 Alexander Albon Williams-Mercedes 19 +28.92510 115 Kick Sauber-Ferrari19 +32.966131287 Oliver Bearman Haas-Ferrari19 +34.529121316 Charles Leclerc Ferrari19 +35.1829 1430 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT19 +36.91616 1531 Esteban Ocon Haas-Ferrari19 +38.838151627 Nico Hülkenberg Kick Sauber-Ferrari19 +39.638141744 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari19 +46.171 1810 Pierre Gasly Alpine-Renault19 +1:09.534 1918 Lance Stroll 19 +1:17.960 2043 Alpine-Renault19 +1:20.804Source: 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 DriverConstructorQ1Q2Q3181 Oscar PiastriMcLaren-Mercedes1:20.2341:19.6501:19.387124 Lando NorrisMcLaren-Mercedes1:20.1571:19.8611:19.495231 Max VerstappenRed Bull Racing-Honda RBPT1:20.4721:19.9851:19.6513463 George RussellMercedes1:20.0741:20.1861:19.6624512 Kimi AntonelliMercedes1:20.5761:20.0841:19.846566 Isack HadjarRacing Bulls-Honda RBPT1:20.6031:20.3501:20.1146755 Carlos Sainz Jr.Williams-Mercedes1:20.5201:20.2511:20.2877814 Fernando Alonso1:20.5981:20.2191:20.4188910 Pierre GaslyAlpine-Renault1:20.6811:20.3241:20.47791016 Charles LeclercFerrari1:20.5641:20.3431:20.5611011 27 Nico HülkenbergKick Sauber-Ferrari1:20.6301:20.353N/A111230 Liam LawsonRacing Bulls-Honda RBPT1:20.5391:20.433N/A121387 Oliver BearmanHaas-Ferrari1:20.5481:20.438N/A13145 Gabriel BortoletoKick Sauber-Ferrari1:20.6531:20.534N/A191523 Alexander AlbonWilliams-Mercedes1:20.6291:20.629N/A141622 Yuki TsunodaRed Bull Racing-Honda RBPT1:20.761N/AN/A151731 Esteban OconHaas-Ferrari1:20.864N/AN/A161844 Lewis HamiltonFerrari1:20.907N/AN/A171918 Lance StrollAston Martin Aramco-Mercedes1:21.058N/AN/A182043Alpine-Renault1:21.137N/AN/A107% time: 1:25.679Source: 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.
Race report Both McLarens started on the front row, with polesitter Oscar Piastri having a good start to cover his teammate Lando Norris going into turn 1. Max Verstappen, who started third, immediately overtook Norris in the first turn. Both George Russell and Isack Hadjar had poor starts and dropped to seventh and eighth, respectively, with Kimi Antonelli, Carlos Sainz Jr. and Fernando Alonso taking over fourth, fifth and sixth. Several drivers were caught with black and white flag for exceeding track limits, including Pierre Gasly who went off track, damaging his Alpine. Nico Hülkenberg attempted to overtake Gasly around the outside of turn 1 on lap 7. Gasly ran into the side of Hülkenberg, causing Hülkenberg to lose his right rear tyre, suffering a tyre puncture on his own and triggering a safety car intervention. With the safety car deployed, every car bar the McLarens and Esteban Ocon made their first pit stops immediately, with Ocon pitting a lap later. The timing of this first pit stop would force these sixteen drivers to pit on lap 32 if they intended to run a two-stop strategy, as the tyres were only allowed to run for a maximum of 25 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.