Oscar Piastri won the sprint race in Qatar ahead of team-mate Lando Norris as McLaren closed in on a first constructors’ title in 26 years.

Much has been made of Norris’ lacklustre starts this season but the British driver blasted away from pole before playing the team game to help Piastri.

Norris then moved over for Piastri at the final bend after they traded positions in Brazil earlier this month.

George Russell finished third, while Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc were fourth and fifth respectively for Ferrari.

McLaren, who last won the team title in 1998, now hold a 30-point lead over Ferrari with 88 points to play for over the final two races.

Lewis Hamilton finished sixth, with newly crowned four-time world champion Max Verstappen only eighth.

Norris bounced back from his championship defeat to Verstappen in Las Vegas by beating Mercedes’ Russell to pole position, and he made no mistake with his getaway – something that could not always be said this season – to lead into the first corner.

Behind him, Piastri was on the move to fend his way past Russell and secure second.

George Russell steers his car during the sprint race
George Russell had to make do with third (Darko Bandic/AP)

Verstappen was unusually sluggish, dropping three places to ninth, while Hamilton – who declared he “definitely isn’t fast any more” after he qualified only seventh, five places behind Russell in the other Mercedes – made up two spots to fifth.

Norris looked comfortable up top but Piastri was soon under pressure, slamming the door shut on Russell at the first corner on the fourth lap.

Russell, who claimed his third career win in Las Vegas a week ago, yelled over the radio: “He just f****** turned into me.”

With Russell crawling all over Piastri’s McLaren gearbox, Norris dropped back to ensure he was not more than one second clear of Piastri – and thus affording the Australian a DRS-assisted tow to keep the Mercedes at bay.

On lap eight, Verstappen moved clear of Pierre Gasly to take eighth, while Leclerc moved ahead of Hamilton on lap 13 to take fifth place.

Hamilton and Leclerc, who will be team-mates together at Ferrari next season, went wheel-to-wheel through the opening two bends before the Monegasque made the move stick at the third corner.

Back at the sharp end, Russell attempted another move on Piastri on the 200mph blast to the first corner but again the McLaren man held firm. But Russell was furious with Piastri’s ruthless defence.

“F*** me that was late, twice now,” said Russell. However, the stewards saw nothing wrong with Piastri’s driving.

Piastri had moved over for Norris in Sao Paulo’s sprint race with the latter still hopeful of securing the world championship. But with the individual title now off the table, Norris repaid the favour to allow Piastri to claim the win.

“We scored a one-two and that is what we were aiming for,” said Norris, who finished just one tenth behind Piastri and only 0.410 seconds ahead of Russell following the last-corner swap.

“It was closer than I wanted, but I planned to do it (swap positions with Piastri) since Brazil.

“I did what I thought was best. The team told me not to do it. I thought we could get away with it and I did.

“I am not here to win sprint races. I want to win the championship and I haven’t done that.”

Piastri said: “It was about defence for the whole race. I didn’t have the pace and I was struggling but we delivered some great team work and without that it would have been much more difficult. It is nice to have a McLaren one-two.”

If McLaren outscore Ferrari by 15 points in Sunday’s main event, they will take the title.