Which Are Some Of The Fastest Lap Times Set At Qatar GP?

57 laps. A total race distance of nearly 308.6 kilometres and in sum total, a course length of 3.367 miles; the Qatar Grand Prix might be the penultimate on the racing calendar. But it is one of the fastest tracks in the modern conception of Formula 1.

Back in 2024, George Russell of Mercedes set among the fastest lap times here when in grabbing pole, the Briton set a fiery 1:20:575. But over the years, a lot has happened here much like the action-packed and a very McLaren-dominated qualifying as seen a few hours ago.

But that being said, just how did F1 get to the point it has where despite McLaren holding on tightly on the Drivers’ championship, things became slippery and in came a familiar Dutchman often loosely titled “Mad Max”, who by the way, still has a chance at grabbing the world title? Let’s delve into some perspective before we talk about Piastri’s Oscar-deserving pole lap in 2025:

Two races. That’s all that’s left on this year’s F1 calendar. Two races to decide a championship fight that has twisted, turned, collapsed, resurrected itself, and now sits balanced on the thinnest blade imaginable. For most of this season, let’s be honest, the 2025 Drivers’ title looked like Oscar Piastri’s personal property.

His to shape, his to sculpt, his to lose. And guess what? With just a pair of Grands Prix standing between him and potential glory, it still somehow feels like it’s Oscar Piastri’s title to lose, only the certainty has evaporated like tyre smoke on a scorching Friday practice.

So what on earth happened?

How did we get here from calm control to full-blown chaos at McLaren? Depending on whom you ask, the explanations fall into two neat piles. There’s Group One the loud, dramatic crowd who see Zak Brown as the puppeteer and suspect some very obvious Papaya-tinted favouritism that’s supposedly stalling this wonderfully gifted Australian.

And then there’s Group Two quieter, a bit more grounded who simply point out that Lando Norris, the “not-universally-loved” and chronically underrated Brit, has rediscovered something frightening: elite form. Look at Singapore. George Russell owned that one. Clean, authoritative, precise.

Then came the US Grand Prix

Max Verstappen doing Max Verstappen things; slapping eight seconds on Norris like it was a warm-up run. But the plot twist arrived immediately after, Mexico City.

Lando didn’t just win he decimated the grid, putting over half a minute into Leclerc. And to silence the trolls still chirping away in his mentions, he turned up at Interlagos and did it again. Beat Antonelli sensational P2 for the kid by more than ten seconds. Meanwhile, Piastri kept stumbling into bad luck, awkward setups, messy races. The talent? Still there, unmistakably. The results? Not quite following.

Strange are the ways of Formula 1. One minute you’re untouchable, the next you’re praying your tyres don’t drop off a cliff or that your rear jack doesn’t decide to resign during a pit stop.

And just as Norris looked like he was building a three-chapter comeback arc… BOOM. Max Verstappen the fun-ruiner, the balance-restorer, the championship’s stern headmaster smashed Vegas wide open.

A 23-second demolition job over George Russell. A reminder that as long as he’s around, nobody gets to feel too comfortable. So here we are. McLaren balancing on a psychological tightrope. Norris strangely trolled, bizarrely disliked, but driving like a man who’s sick of the narrative. Meanwhile, the young blazingly fast Oscar Piastri immensely gifted but suddenly off-sync. Or is he?

Maybe not by much this time, how come? For he has just set the fastest lap at the Qatar GP’s venue, i.e., the Lusail International Circuit. As seen in Q3, the young Australian who was also on the podium here the last time around, set a blazingly fast 1:19:387.

And in so doing, the 24-year-old Victorian edged out his fast-catching teammate by just 0.108 seconds. Let that sink in.

Previous fastest lap times:

1:23.196 on lap 57 (Verstappen in 2021)

1:24:319 on lap 56 (Verstappen in 2023)

1:22:384 on lap 56 (Norris in 2023)

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