DOHA: Freshly crowned world champion Max Verstappen claimed pole position for the Qatar Formula One Grand Prix while Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri had to settle for third and fourth after their sprinnt race one-two.
Red Bull's Verstappen, who clinched a fourth straight title last week in Las Vegas led the way on the Lusail International Circuit in 1 minute 20.520 for his first grand prix pole since June.
In a major turnaround from an eighth-place finish in the sprint, he pipped Mercedes driver George Russell by .055 of a second.
But Verstappen was facing a post-qualifying investigation for possibly driving dangerously slow during Q3 and potentially blocking Russell.
Norris and Piastri followed and were ahead of the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc (fifth) and Carlos Sainz (seventh) which is important for the constructors' championship.
Piastri won the sprint after Norris let him pass in the closing stages, and the one-two saw McLaren extend their lead over Ferrari to 30 points. They can clinch a first constructors' title since 1998 with one race to spare if they are 44 points ahead after Sunday.