F1 Qatar GP: Oscar Piastri leads Lando Norris in sole Losail practice

McLaren's Oscar Piastri topped the only practice session of Formula 1's sprint weekend in Qatar, edging out team-mate and title rival Lando Norris in a last-minute flurry of qualifying runs in Doha.

At the floodlit Losail circuit, which hosts the penultimate weekend on the 2025 calendar, Piastri's second soft-tyre run at the end of the session was enough to overhaul Norris' previous best effort by half a tenth, with Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso completing the top three.

With Qatar hosting the final sprint weekend of the 2025 season, teams wasted little time getting up to speed in the only free practice session, all 20 drivers completing the majority of the sole practice session on hard tyres with both higher and lower fuel loads. Teams are preparing for a one-off weekend in which Pirelli has mandated a maximum 25-lap tyre stint as a precaution against punctures on the demanding circuit, which locks Sunday's race into a two-stopper.

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Formula 1How Pirelli’s 25-lap F1 tyre limit will work at the Qatar GP

Mercedes' George Russell led the early running from Max Verstappen, who complained about the ride quality of his Red Bull RB21, which he reported was "jumping a lot".

The Mercedes driver then improved his leading time to a 1m22.165s after 20 minutes, which would stand untouched for the next half hour.

Drifting wide on the dusty high-downforce Losail circuit, Norris also took a while to get up to speed as he wondered why he was 1.6s behind team-mate and title rival Piastri early on. He then duly found the pace to settle near the top of the standings, yet McLaren still looked slightly adrift on Pirelli's hard compound.

After more than 45 minutes of hard tyre running, teams bolted on the soft tyres for qualifying simulations towards the end of the session, and it appeared as though the McLaren MCL39 came alive on the softer compound.

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images

Pre-event favourite Norris, who will seal his maiden world title if he wins this weekend, took control with a 1m20.982s, three tenths ahead of Piastri's 1m21.351s.

On his second flyer, Norris looked set to go quicker before aborting his attempt. Piastri did go faster and leapfrogged the Briton with a 1m20.924s, just 0.058s faster, a lap which would remain unbeaten.

Aston veteran Alonso was a promising third, four tenths behind Piastri, followed by fellow Spaniard Carlos Sainz in the Williams. Aboard the Racing Bulls car, Isack Hadjar held off Verstappen for fourth, with the second Williams of Alex Albon in seventh.

Charles Leclerc was eighth in a cumbersome looking Ferrari, ahead of Lance Stroll and Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who rounded out the top 10.

Sprint qualifying continues at 20:30 local Doha time.

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F1 Qatar GP - FP1 results

All Stats

Driver

Chassis

Engine

Laps

Time

Interval

Tyres

km/h

O. Piastri McLaren

McLaren

Mercedes

1'20.924

241.070

L. Norris McLaren

McLaren

Mercedes

+0.058

1'20.982

0.058

240.897

F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing

Aston Martin

Mercedes

+0.386

1'21.310

0.328

239.926

C. Sainz Williams

Williams

Mercedes

+0.480

1'21.404

0.094

239.649

I. Hadjar Racing Bulls

Honda

+0.579

1'21.503

0.099

239.358

M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing

Red Bull

Red Bull

+0.580

1'21.504

0.001

239.355

A. Albon Williams

Williams

Mercedes

+0.685

1'21.609

0.105

239.047

C. Leclerc Ferrari

Ferrari

Ferrari

+0.744

1'21.668

0.059

238.874

L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing

Aston Martin

Mercedes

+0.745

1'21.669

0.001

238.871

A. Antonelli Mercedes

Mercedes

Mercedes

+0.774

1'21.698

0.029

238.786

N. Hulkenberg Sauber

Sauber

Ferrari

+0.859

1'21.783

0.085

238.538

L. Hamilton Ferrari

Ferrari

Ferrari

+0.870

1'21.794

0.011

238.506

Y. Tsunoda Red Bull Racing

Red Bull

Red Bull

+0.872

1'21.796

0.002

238.500

G. Russell Mercedes

Mercedes

Mercedes

+0.900

1'21.824

0.028

238.419

O. Bearman Haas F1 Team

Haas

Ferrari

+1.002

1'21.926

0.102

238.122

G. Bortoleto Sauber

Sauber

Ferrari

+1.002

1'21.926

0.000

238.122

E. Ocon Haas F1 Team

Haas

Ferrari

+1.172

1'22.096

0.170

237.629

P. Gasly Alpine

Alpine

Renault

+1.500

1'22.424

0.328

236.683

L. Lawson Racing Bulls

Honda

+1.638

1'22.562

0.138

236.287

F. Colapinto Alpine

Alpine

Renault

+2.605

1'23.529

0.967

233.552

View full results

Photos from Qatar GP : Practice

Qatar GP - Friday, in photos

Qatar GP - Friday, in photos

Qatar GP - Friday, in photos

Qatar GP - Friday, in photos

Qatar GP - Friday, in photos

Qatar GP - Friday, in photos

Qatar GP - Friday, in photos

Qatar GP - Friday, in photos

Qatar GP - Friday, in photos

Qatar GP - Friday, in photos

Qatar GP - Friday, in photos

Qatar GP - Friday, in photos

Qatar GP - Friday, in photos

Qatar GP - Friday, in photos

Qatar GP - Friday, in photos

Qatar GP - Friday, in photos

Qatar GP - Friday, in photos

Qatar GP - Friday, in photos

Qatar GP - Friday, in photos

Qatar GP - Friday, in photos

Qatar GP - Friday, in photos

Qatar GP - Friday, in photos

Qatar GP - Friday, in photos

Qatar GP - Friday, in photos

Qatar GP - Friday, in photos

Qatar GP - Friday, in photos

Qatar GP - Friday, in photos

Qatar GP - Friday, in photos

Qatar GP - Friday, in photos

Qatar GP - Friday, in photos

Qatar GP - Friday, in photos

Qatar GP - Friday, in photos

Qatar GP - Friday, in photos

Qatar GP - Friday, in photos

Qatar GP - Friday, in photos

Qatar GP - Friday, in photos

Qatar GP - Friday, in photos

Qatar GP - Friday, in photos

Qatar GP - Friday, in photos

Qatar GP - Friday, in photos

Qatar GP - Friday, in photos

Formula 1

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