Lando Norris protected McLaren Formula 1 team-mate Oscar Piastri throughout the Qatar Grand Prix sprint race before handing the win over to his team-mate at the finish.

Piastri had given up the sprint win in Brazil to Norris while the latter was still in the hunt for the drivers' championship, but with that title race now over Norris saw fit to return the favour - while McLaren's constructors' championship hopes were boosted.

"I planned to do it since Brazil," Norris revealed afterwards. "It was probably a little sketchy, the team told me not to do it - but I thought I could get away with it, and we did."

While Norris had comfortably safeguarded his lead into Turn 1 off pole, Mercedes driver George Russell looked to have at least kept Piastri at bay - only for the Australian to sneak around the outside of the corner, crucially establishing a McLaren 1-2 at the front.

Behind them, a twitch from Carlos Sainz coming out of the corner inadvertently baulked Charles Leclerc, opening the door for his 2025 team-mate Hamilton to pounce and take fifth - while 2024 champion Max Verstappen, who had started ahead of Hamilton, was also delayed.

The bigger issue for Verstappen, though, was his Red Bull looking decidedly a handful in the next corners - as he first ran wide at Turn 2 to allow Nico Hulkenberg through, then caught a major snap that dropped him behind Pierre Gasly.

The McLaren, certainly in Piastri's hands, didn't appear to have the pure pace to pull away from its pursuers, and after a semi-look at Turn 1 from Russell on the second lap and a genuine attack at the same corner on lap three, McLaren began to execute a strategic race.

Norris dropped towards Piastri to ensure his team-mate was getting DRS, keeping the Russell threat neutralised in the early stages of the 19-lap event.

But when Norris was told to speed up, McLaren seemingly being under the impression that Piastri was about to break away from Russell for good, the Mercedes driver was back on the attack instead.

Piastri only just held on to the position with a last-second chop on the run down to Turn 1 that irked Russell but prompted no reaction from the stewards.

Meanwhile, Norris told McLaren that he was starting to struggle with his front end - but asked "do I save him?", receiving an answer in the affirmative: "Please help Oscar."

He did accordingly, and the only time the McLaren 1-2 was threatened after that was when Piastri fell out of Norris's DRS range at the final corner - albeit with Russell not quite close enough to attack, and not close enough in the end to capitalise when Norris gave up the win to Piastri on the run to the finish.

Russell was just four tenths off the win at the flag after the position swap, while Sainz completed a top four covered by 1.3s, having likewise run in the Norris DRS train.