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 will start Sunday’s race second on the grid but with his lead now reduced to 22 points.

“Let’s go baby!” the exhilarated Piastri said to his team over the radio after earning his first pole since the Dutch Grand Prix at the end of August, which he went on to win.

Norris is still in the championship driving seat, knowing that if he can defeat Piastri to win on the Lusail circuit, he will be celebrating the title on Sunday night. If not, even two third-place finishes, in Qatar and in the final race in Abu Dhabi, would still be enough to seal it.

But he’s been outdriven all weekend by his resurgent teammate, who’s come alive on the circuit where he won his first race in F1 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 on Saturday -- a consummate return to form after six weekends in which 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.

His first victory in any race since the Dutch GP at the end of August meant he scored a maximum eight points, gaining two crucial points on Norris, who could only finish third behind George Russell’s Mercedes.

He’s also moved three points clear of Max Verstappen in second place overall after Red Bull’s champion, level on points with Piastri going into the sprint, could only finish fourth, rising two places from his grid start.

Verstappen then finished third in the later dramatic qualifying shootout, while Norris, who had been on provisional pole, aborted his final run in Q3 after making a mistake.

Piastri, though, made no mistake, pulling out a fantastic lap record for the second day in a row of 1min 19.387sec to take pole, comfortably eclipsing Norris’s 1:19.495. Verstappen clocked 1:19.651 in third.

“Everything’s felt great all weekend. So yeah, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” smiled Piastri, who’s led every session -- practice, sprint qualifying, the sprint race and qualifying.

Asked if it was now win or bust in the championship race, he smiled: “Pretty much...”

Of his sprint win, which ended with him collecting the trophy from tennis great Novak Djokovic, he added: “It was really good. The team did a great job, so I’m happy with how it’s been 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.”

Piastri was always in control after getting off to a fine start, racing away from Russell, who was briefly challenged for second by Norris.

The championship leader himself had to hold off a brief challenge from the Red Bull pair of Yuki Tsunoda and Verstappen before the fare became processional.

Piastri looked back to his early-season best which earned him seven Grand Prix wins as he found pace that no-one else could match, ending up nearly five seconds clear of Russell.

Norris, in second place, was 6.279 seconds behind the winner, with an increasingly confident-sounding Piastri telling his team over the radio: “Let’s keep it going.”