F1 Sprint Highlights | 2024 Qatar Grand Prix

And it will be time to look to the lights because Formula One is about to go racing again. The final sprint race of the season is underway and it's a good launch off the line for our pole sitter. Lando Norris got the launch that he needs. Can Oskar Piastri put pressure on George Russell with P2? The answer to that is not into the corner, maybe on the outside. It's Lando Norris who finds himself with the lead and Oskar Piastri who roars by to take second place. A nice start for both McLaren's who are one and two at the moment. Russell drops down to third. Sainz hangs on to fourth but it's a climb for Lewis Hamilton, despondent yesterday. He is on the attack today. He's moved up two places to fifth as Norris leads Piastri on lap number one of 19. And a lesser spotted Verstappen going a little bit backwards at the start. Hulkenberg's managed to jump him but really feisty stuff there from Oskar Piastri who you just sensed felt that he let it slip the pole position yesterday. Didn't quite get his lap together but he's got his start together. This is on board with Max Verstappen in ninth position. He's off line and the other thing with the wind is it's blowing more sand onto the track and no one's been on that part of the racetrack so far. Well, I'll be serious for another statement. Quickly see what happened to Checo then. Green light. So you've got to wait for all the cars to go past before you get the green light. Wow, he's like pulling away as if he had a dozen eggs in the back of the car. This is what it looked like on board for Franco Colopinto. There you go. There's the green light. Thinks about doing it on the outside. Does so on the outside. That is brilliant. Brilliant instinctive stuff from Colopinto. Big lap coming up now for Oskar Piastri. Can he get inside DRS range? He's not doing this out of choice really. McLaren happy with the position that they're in. Gaining points but Russell's gaining as well and that is a bold look to the inside. Can he force Piastri off the racing line? It was a mere look last time. This lap around far more intent from Russell. Here's the lunge down the inside. Looks like he's got clean racetrack and yeah, that actually does give you another perspective on it. You can understand why George was saying, well hold on a minute, he cut across my bow and that's exactly what happened with him in the Grand Prix last year with Lewis Hamilton who then went into the gravel. Jolyon's wincing seeing how close Oskar's getting to the front of the field. Here's a pass for Max Verstappen to the inside of Pierre Gasly and Verstappen. First time he's lost positions in any race all year but he's just gained a place there. Here's an opportunity for the Ferrari in sixth position to turn it into fifth to the inside. The two future teammates nearly banging wheels and Charles Leclerc's looking for fifth place but Lewis Hamilton doesn't want to give it up yet and Hamilton versus Leclerc is resuming next year but is that a preview what's to come because Hamilton takes it back or can he? No, sweeping around the outside to finally claim fifth place. If that's a sign of things to come, bring it on. Let's have another look. Big slipstream for Leclerc. This is the closest he was. Went down the inside. The thing is with this first corner it encourages you to hold it around the outside. Lewis gave Charles plenty of space. It wasn't quite like the Piastri-Russell moment and then he has the inside for Turn 2 at which point Leclerc was very aggressive at holding it around the outside and they were really respectful with each other actually. George Russell is going to have another lunch. On board with the driver currently in third. Will he be given a cars width? Aggressive defense from Oscar Piastri. We saw it from the nose cam. Piastri still in second place but he's lost that DRS and Russell is on the charge. Mate, that was late. Twice now. In fairness that was quite a late reaction move. Not enough to warrant a penalty but he was definitely watching the motors. It will be back-to-back sprint victories as Lando Norris comes tight out of the final line. Comes across the line and Oscar Piastri takes the sprint win. At the very end Oscar Piastri goes past Lando Norris and the McLaren swap on the 19th and final lap on the last corner. Piastri beats Norris across the line by a tenth of a second and there was a twist in the tail. Back-to-back sprint wins in Qatar for Oscar Piastri. This is the moment where it was decided. We finish in this order. Finish in this order. We're happy. So Norris was told by Will Joseph to finish in the order but he never wanted team orders this year and he felt the need to repay the favor from Sao Paulo. Norris taking the choice on his own to overrule the team and to give back the win that Piastri handed to him in Sao Paulo at the next sprint race here in Qatar. Yeah, thank you for the teamwork. Much appreciated and a great load of points so thanks everybody. Piastri won't mind. It's a win. Norris I don't think will be too cut up that he's lost that one either. It's just a strange way to end it and it's complicated as well because trying to execute that the top four finished within four tenths of a second. You don't get many races settled by one tenth of a second. This season's had everything including McLaren swapping at the final corner of the last lap. It means that Oscar Piastri takes his second sprint win and they have both come here in Qatar. Lando Norris is in second place. George Russell in third and McLaren crucial points gained over Ferrari who finished fourth and fifth with signs in Leclerc.