Russell heads sprint race qualifying but second-placed Antonelli faces investigation

George Russell led another Mercedes one-two in qualifying for the sprint race in Shanghai but his team mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli could lose his second place.

SQ1

Russell only needed a single flying lap to ensure he headed the times in the first stage of qualifying for the sprint race. His 1’33.030 initially put him ahead of his team mate Antonelli by four tenths of a second.

The Ferrari drivers, having swapped their novel flipping rear wings for the previous specification, chipped away at their lap times until they ended up second and third fastest. Lewis Hamilton led the pair, both within two tenths of a second off Russell. Antonelli, like his team mate, did not improve on his original lap time.

There was little to separate the McLaren pair in fifth and sixth places. However Red Bull looked to have a fight on their hands to make it into the final round of qualifying. Max Verstappen came 11th, complaining about poor drive-ability from his Red Bull-Ford power unit, 1.1s off Russell’s pace. Pierre Gasly’s Alpine, Nico Hulkenberg’s Audi, Esteban Ocon’s Haas and Liam Lawson’s Racing Bulls occupied the bottom four places in the top 10.

Sergio Perez’s elimination was guaranteed when Cadillac discovered a problem with his car’s fuel system before the session began. Team mate Valtteri Bottas was slowest of those who set times.

The Aston Martin pair beat him by well over a second, Fernando Alonso leading as usual. The cars went out two by two in the first round of qualifying, as both Williams also fell at the first hurdle.

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and

SQ1 result

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and

SQ2

The second round of sprint race qualifying proved a nail-biter for Red Bull. Verstappen and Hadjar ended the session at the bottom of the top 10, both safe from the pursuing pack by less than a tenth of a second.

Verstappen did not help his cause by going off at the exit of the final corner. He claimed he had been held up by Gasly at the exit of turn 14. “That Alpine is just on the racing line out of the last hairpin, it’s ridiculous,” he exclaimed.

Russell headed the session again, cutting almost eight tenths of a second off his best time from the first part of qualifying. However Antonelli cut his team mate’s lead to just five hundredths of a second.

Only Leclerc got within three-quarters of a second of the Mercedes in this session. Piastri separated him from Hamilton in the other Ferrari. Norris accused Antonelli of holding him up, telling his team “I was going to push that lap but he got in the way.” The stewards announced they would investigate the incident, along with Verstappen’s complaint about Gasly.

Bearman made it through despite being another driver to go off at the last corner. Hulkenberg and Ocon narrowly failed to miss the cut, joining Lawson, Bortoleto, Lindblad and Colapinto in elimination.

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and

SQ2 result

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and

SQ3

Russell kept up his form in the final round, reeling off a 1’31.520 which no one else could match. Antonelli tried twice and came up with a 1’32.8 each time, but nonetheless completed another one-two for Mercedes, though remains under investigation.

The driver who claimed Antonelli held him up, Norris, stands to benefit if he is penalised. He qualified third on the grid, albeit over six tenths of a second slower than Russell. Hamilton joined him on the second row of the grid, just two hundredths of a second slower.

However Hamilton was more concerned about the gap to Verstappen. “Still six tenths,” he remarked to race engineer Carlos Santi. “That’s crazy.”

Norris and Hamilton’s team mates took the places immediately behind them: Piastri fifth, Leclerc sixth.

Verstappen lost out to Gasly again, the Alpine driver putting a fifth Mercedes-powered car inside the top seven places. It wasn’t close, either: Verstappen over three-tenths of a second behind his former team mate. But Gasly, too, remains under investigation for holding up Verstappen.

Isack Hadjar might have demoted them further but ran wide at the final corner and had to settle for 10th place behind Oliver Bearman’s Haas.

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and

SQ3 result

2025 Qatar Grand Prix

• Norris wins 2025 F1 title and ends Verstappen’s four-year reign as champion
• McLaren “helping Stefano with TV ratings” with Qatar strategy error, jokes Brown
• Alpine are guaranteed to finish last in 2025 – but will set an obscure points record
• Norris take note: The F1 points leader usually loses three-way title fights
• Mercedes grateful for Red Bull’s statement on Antonelli after “disappointing” online abuse

Browse all 2025 Qatar Grand Prix articles