Charles Leclerc was the fastest in Qatar during the only free practice session ahead of McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) achieved the best time in the first and only free practice session of the Qatar Grand Prix, 23rd round of 24 of the F1 World Championship, Friday at the Losail International Circuit (5.419 km).
In the fight for the constructors' world title, Ferrari and McLaren were neck and neck during this first run in Qatar since Leclerc beat the two orange single-seaters of Briton Lando Norris and Australian Oscar Piastri, while his Spanish teammate Carlos Sainz set the fourth fastest time.
This suggests a great battle later in the evening on Friday during qualifying for the sprint race, which will take place on Saturday afternoon. After this quartet, a few surprises came to shake up the usual hierarchy since the Japanese Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls) took fourth place, ahead of the Finn Valtteri Bottas (Sauber) and the Canadian Lance Stroll (Aston Martin). The Top 10 is completed by the Briton George Russell (Mercedes), winner last weekend in Las Vegas, the Thai Alex Albon (Williams) and the seven-time English world champion Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes).
The Dutchman Max Verstappen (Red Bull), who has just won a fourth consecutive planetary crown, is in 11th place, ahead of the Spanish veteran Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), who should reach the mark of 400 Grand Prix starts on Sunday, a record .
