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Oscar Piastri has kept his F1 drivers' title hopes alive with a near-perfect day at the Qatar Grand Prix, as he enjoyed an imperious pole-to-chequered-flag triumph in the sprint before powering to pole for the main race.
In the process, the resurgent Australian did everything he could to pile the pressure on his McLaren teammate and championship leader Lando Norris, who'll start Sunday's race on the front row but with his lead now trimmed to 22 points.
'Let's go, baby!' the exhilarated Piastri declared over the radio after earning his first race victory and pole since the Dutch Grand Prix in August.
The 24-year-old – who's seemed a bit down amid his recent slump – admitted it was the most fun he'd ever had in an F1 car.
Asked if it was now win-or-bust on Sunday to keep his dream alive, he smiled: 'Pretty much.'
Norris remains on championship pole, knowing if he can win on the Lusail circuit, or if he gains four points more than Piastri, he'll be celebrating the title on Sunday night.
Piastri was all smiles (pictured) after winning the sprint race then taking pole position for the Qatar Grand Prix as he emerged from his awful form slump
The Aussie made the surprising admission that his day at the Lusail circuit was the most fun he'd ever had in an F1 car
If not, then even two third-place finishes, in Qatar and the Abu Dhabi finale, would still be enough for him.
But the Briton has been outdriven all weekend by his teammate, who's come alive on the circuit where he won his first F1 race in the 2023 sprint, a victory he repeated last year.
But winning the 19-lap race for the hat-trick with all his old calm and efficiency – a consummate return to form after six weekends when he failed to make a podium – told the tale that he's ready to fight to the end to become Australia's first champion in 45 years.
Piastri's sprint win enabled him to gain two crucial points on Norris, who could only finish third behind George Russell's Mercedes.
He's also three points clear of Max Verstappen in second overall after Red Bull's champion, level with Piastri going into the sprint, finished fourth, rising two places from his grid start.
Verstappen then came third in the dramatic qualifying as Norris, who'd been on provisional pole, had to abort his final run in Q3 after making a mistake with 'understeer' as he was about to launch into it.
'Oscar did a good lap, drove very well and has been driving well all weekend. Nothing to complain about, just didn't do the lap, and still P2 for tomorrow,' shrugged Norris.
Piastri pulled out a lap record for the second day in a row, clocking 1min 19.387sec for pole, comfortably eclipsing Norris's 1:19.495. Verstappen clocked 1:19.651 in third.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown (left) has faced allegations that the team has been biased against Piastri (right) as his teammate Lando Norris surged into the championship lead, but there were no signs of tension after qualifying
Piastri (right) is now 22 points behind Norris (centre) in the drivers' standings, with reigning world champion Max Verstappen (right) breathing down both their necks
'Everything's felt great all weekend. So if it ain't broke, don't fix it,' said Piastri, who's led every session – practice, sprint qualifying, the sprint race and qualifying.
Of his sprint win, which ended with him collecting the trophy from tennis great Novak Djokovic, he added: 'It was really good. It's been good so far and just need to keep it rolling.
'The pace has been strong, it's a track I've enjoyed in the past, and I'm enjoying it again, clearly.
'I'm expecting it to be a pretty tough race. You're pulling an insane amount of G-force around here multiple times a lap so it's hard work – but incredible fun.
'I'll try my best. I'm starting from the best spot so I'll try and do some more of what I did today in the sprint and we'll see what we can do.'
Piastri was always in control after getting off to a fine start, racing away from Russell and looking back to his early-season best which earned him seven Grand Prix wins, eventually ending up nearly five seconds ahead of the English driver.
Norris, in second, was 6.279 seconds behind the winner, with an increasingly confident-sounding Piastri telling his team over the radio: 'Let's keep it going.'
Elsewhere, it was a now-familiar tale of woe for Lewis Hamilton who, after qualifying 18th for the sprint and finishing only one place higher in the race, ended up in 18th again for the grand prix.
