• Norris slips up in final lap to give rival advantage

• Max Verstappen third on grid; Hamilton 18th

Oscar Piastri knew going into the weekend of the Qatar Grand Prix he would have to be at his best to keep his world championship ambitions alive and, with a battling performance, he did exactly that, by claiming victory in the sprint race and then pole position for the grand prix at the Lusail circuit.

Both were significant but pole was crucial in the tense title fight with his McLaren teammate Lando Norris, who lines up alongside him on the front row of the grid, and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who starts from third, with the three contenders set to go head to head into turn one on Sunday.

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© Photograph: Jakub Porzycki/Reuters

© Photograph: Jakub Porzycki/Reuters

© Photograph: Jakub Porzycki/Reuters

• Norris third in Lusail, with Russell second on grid

• Verstappen furious with car after qualifying sixth

Oscar Piastri took pole position for the sprint race at the Qatar Grand Prix. The McLaren driver beat the Mercedes of George Russell into second and, with Lando Norris in third, it was the result the Australian required for his world championship ambitions and allows a chance to narrow the gap to the leader Norris. The other title contender, Max Verstappen, was furious with his Red Bull’s erratic performance and will start in sixth.

On the first hot runs in Q3 Piastri set the pace with a 1min 20.241sec lap, four-hundredths quicker than ­Norris. However Verstappen was complaining his car was suffering with bouncing through the corners, lacking the stability in the fast turns that had been a strength of the car and an issue he had also experienced in the only practice session. Going off wide on his first run he did not set a competitive time on his first run.

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© Photograph: Hollandse Hoogte/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Hollandse Hoogte/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Hollandse Hoogte/Shutterstock

The decision was handed down by a judge in West Virginia, which has one of the country’s strictest school vaccination laws and one of the highest vaccination rates.

© Christopher Jones for The New York Times

Disqualifications of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri bring unnecessary stress for McLaren in the final two F1 races of the season

As misjudgments go, McLaren’s error in calculations that led to the disqualification of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri from the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Sunday could barely have been more cataclysmic nor more poorly timed. Quite how they got it wrong just when they wanted to close out the drivers’ championship with as little fuss as possible will take no little explanation.

Norris and Piastri, second and fourth respectively to Max Verstappen’s win in Nevada, had been solid enough results until the FIA discovered the skid blocks on their cars had been worn beyond the 9mm limit. In one fell swoop, Verstappen was right back in the fight, alongside Piastri, 24 points back from Norris.

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© Photograph: Mikael Ona/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Mikael Ona/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Mikael Ona/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

• Cars failed to meet minimum skid wear measurements

• Loss of points places title within reach of Max Verstappen

McLaren have held their hands up and issued an apology to their drivers after their breach of Formula One regulations led to the disqualification of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, the two leading title contenders, from the Las Vegas Grand Prix, and put the F1 drivers’ championship within the grasp of the reigning champion, Max Verstappen.

The race was won by the Red Bull driver but Norris took a strong second and Piastri fourth. However, four hours after the race and following an investigation by the FIA, both were disqualified after the skid blocks on the floor of their cars were found to have been worn down below the 9mm limit defined in the rules.

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© Photograph: Xinhua/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Xinhua/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Xinhua/Shutterstock

• Title race leader first in qualifying ahead of Verstappen

• Hamilton woes continue with last-place finish for Ferrari

Lando Norris claimed pole position at the Las Vegas Grand Prix in treacherous, wet conditions on the street circuit in Nevada to move one step closer to taking his first Formula One world championship.

The British driver’s march to the title looks increasingly likely with pole at what has been a bogey circuit for McLaren.

Norris beat the Red Bull of Max Verstappen into second and, with his closest title rival and teammate Oscar Piastri in fifth, he can further extend his advantage at the top of the standings on Sunday. Indeed, he had been so cool in advance that he took in spot of shut-eye before it began and then weathered the hazardous conditions with insouciance.

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© Photograph: Xavi Bonilla/DPPI/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Xavi Bonilla/DPPI/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Xavi Bonilla/DPPI/Shutterstock

The Yemeni prisoner spent nearly seven hours at the war court, displaying some of the defiance of his 2008 proceeding.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times

• Oscar Piastri fourth as teammate Lando Norris excels

• Verstappen’s title hopes hit as he is 16th and out in Q1

Lando Norris claimed pole position for the São Paulo Grand Prix, his championship ambitions backed with a real statement of intent having already secured victory in the sprint race earlier on Saturday.

His success was given added impetus as both his title rivals, Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen, suffered disappointment in Brazil. Piastri’s championship hopes took yet another blow as he crashed out of the sprint and qualified only in fourth, while Verstappen could manage only 16th on the grid.

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© Photograph: DPPI/Shutterstock

© Photograph: DPPI/Shutterstock

© Photograph: DPPI/Shutterstock

Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen battle for the title, just as Juan Manuel Fangio, Nino Farina and Luigi Fagioli did 75 years ago

With no little pleasing symmetry, 75 years on from a three-way fight for the inaugural Formula One title, the championship is entering its decisive phase once more with three protagonists in the running and the promise of an enthralling denouement of the kind that has graced some of the sport’s greatest seasons.

Heading into this weekend’s São Paulo Grand Prix, McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen all remain in the hunt. Norris leads Piastri by one point, with the defending champion, Verstappen, 36 points back, after a late-season resurgence.

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© Photograph: Daniel Dal Zennaro/EPA

© Photograph: Daniel Dal Zennaro/EPA

© Photograph: Daniel Dal Zennaro/EPA

New Zealand film-maker became a Hollywood fixture in the 90s and 00s, including making Pierce Brosnan’s last 007 movie, before returning to his home country

Lee Tamahori, the New Zealand director of Once Were Warriors and Die Another Day, has died aged 75.

In a statement to Radio New Zealand, Tamahori’s family said he had Parkinson’s and died “peacefully at home”.

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© Photograph: Munawar Hosain/Rex Features

© Photograph: Munawar Hosain/Rex Features

© Photograph: Munawar Hosain/Rex Features