Norris on pole for Qatar sprint, Piastri third

McLaren's Lando Norris took pole position for the Qatar Grand Prix sprint on Friday with Mercedes' George Russell denying the Formula One leaders a front row lockout by pushing Oscar Piastri down to third.

McLaren are leading Ferrari in the championship by 24 points with two rounds remaining and a first constructors' title since 1998 tantalisingly close.

Norris lapped the floodlit Lusail circuit with a best time of one minute 21.012 seconds with Russell 0.063 slower and Australian Piastri, last year's sprint winner in Qatar, 0.159 off the pace.

Ferrari's Carlos Sainz qualified fourth with teammate Charles Leclerc fifth and newly-crowned four-time champion Max Verstappen sixth for Red Bull and Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton seventh.

Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez qualified only 16th, the latest in a string of disappointing performances by the struggling Mexican.