F1 Qatar GP live commentary and updates - Qualifying

The start of Q2 is delayed by a couple of minutes, presumably to sweep some gravel or other debris.

Tsunoda is furious to learn he is out. "What?! I have no xxxxxxx pace!"

Russell wrestled top spot away from Norris at the end there, courtesy of being the last frontrunner to set a lap. 

Russell, Norris, Piastri, Verstappen, Sainz is your top five.

Q1 - Hamilton, Tsunoda out as Russell leads

Tsunoda doesn't make it either despite his strong qualifying performance yesterday. He is 16th, and followed out the door by Ocon, Hamilton, Stroll and Colapinto in that order.

Lewis Hamilton out

No, no, no. It's more misery for the seven-time world champion. He improves but missed the cut by a tenth and a half.

Leclerc to fifth to make it to Q2. What about Hamilton though? 

There's just one tenth between Hamilton in 12th and Lawson in 16th, that gap also covers Albon, Bortoleto and Leclerc. 

Tsunoda, Ocon, Stroll and Colapinto are also on the outside looking in.

And as laptimes keep dropping, Leclerc is on the bubble once more in the Ferrari. Both he and Hamilton leave the Ferrari garages looking for a spot in Q2.

P2 for Piastri, his 1m20.234s is 0.077s slower than Norris.

Lando Norris was on the bubble in 15th, but he gets himself to safety with a much improved second lap. It's P1 for the championship leader with a 1m20.157s.

Max Verstappen goes top with a 1m20.534s. That's just quicker than Hadjar and Pierre Gasly in the Alpine (!). Gasly was rapid in the twisty second sector.

That leaves the following cars in the dropzone after two attempts, and with seven minutes on the clock.

16 Hulkenberg
17 Albon
18 Sainz
19 Ocon
20 Colapinto

Better from Ferrari. Hamilton goes sixth with Leclerc eighth. It should be enough to survive, although you can't be too confident given how quickly the laptimes are falling.

Isack Hadjar goes top with a 1m20.603s in the Racing Bulls machine, which again shows the track is improving at a rapid rate.

You won't be too surprised to learn the Ferraris are in trouble again. Leclerc is 16th, missing the cut by almost two tenths. Lewis Hamilton is another three tenths in arrear and the slowest of all runners.

Just Alpine's Franco Colapinto to set a time after losing his first effort to track limits.

Having qualified fourth for the sprint, Alonso is really on it again. The 44-year-old Spaniard moves up to second, 0.155s behind Piastri.

A low-key start for Lando Norris, his time is seven tenths slower than Piastri, which only nets him provisional eighth. 

Top for George Russell - 1m20.907s. But that time is immediately shattered by Oscar Piastri's 1m20.739s.

Fernando Alonso hits the front with a 1m20.980s, and that's quicker than Max Verstappen by 0.004s.

Who's going to take pole then? Let us know in the comments what you think.

If you did watch the sprint race, you know how crucial this session is. Overtaking is nearly impossible unless the car in front makes a mistake.

What's more, teams are bound to a mandatory two-stop strategy as Pirelli has imposed a maximum tyre stint of 25 lap, a precaution against potential punctures. The general consensus is that it will make the racing even worse, as teams will gravitate to the same strategies.

Williams' Albon has won the race out of the garages at Ocon's expense, and the Haas driver is not very happy about having to take avoiding action. 

Air temperatures of 21C and a track temperature of 26C, that's pretty much identical to sprint qualifying last night.

It certainly doesn't seem like McLaren will have it all to itself today, given how strong George Russell was. 

Max Verstappen has been struggling with a bouncing Red Bull car, but teams have been able to tinker with their set-ups after the sprint race. Have they been able to turn the car around? It wouldn't be the first time this year.

It does seem safe to rule out Ferrari, the Scuderia has been woeful this weekend. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have not got going at all at Losail.

Some title permutations for you.

Lando Norris will win 2025 F1 title in Qatar if...

If Norris is out of the top 8, how can Piastri and Verstappen remain in contention?

• Piastri will be in contention for the title in Abu Dhabi no matter what
• If Norris finishes 9th, Verstappen needs 8th or better
• If Norris finishes 10th, Verstappen needs 9th or better
• If Norris finishes 11th or lower, Verstappen needs 10th or better

If you didn't follow the 19-lap sprint earlier today... you didn't miss much.

Piastri won it from pole ahead of Russell and Norris, while Verstappen moved up from sixth to fourth at the start.

Read our report here.

Max Verstappen has the most work to do. He now trails Norris by 25 points, with Piastri 22 points behind his McLaren team-mate.

Welcome

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of qualifying at the Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix. 

Can Oscar Piastri make it a clean sweep of Saturday sessions following his sprint race win to further save his championship chances? Or will Lando Norris put himself in the best possible position to seal it as early as tomorrow?