LUSAIL: Oscar Piastri topped the timesheets in the only practice session for the Qatar Grand Prix, narrowly beating McLaren team-mate Lando Norris and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso as the field squeezed all their preparation into a single hour.
With Qatar hosting the season’s final Sprint weekend, teams had just one shot at tuning their cars before Sprint Qualifying under the lights. As the sun dipped over Lusail, drivers rolled out on hard tyres, eager to maximise track time.
Early on, George Russell and Max Verstappen briefly held P1 before Nico Hülkenberg lit up the timing screens, stringing together multiple purple sectors. Verstappen quickly responded, going eight tenths clear with a 1:23.343, though he soon began reporting issues with his front-left tyre—and later, steering concerns.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc complained of similar steering trouble while languishing in P15, but he recovered to sixth, pushing Verstappen down to seventh. Moments later, rookie Kimi Antonelli surged to the top, only to be outdone as Piastri delivered a late flyer that sealed the session.
Alonso was third for Aston Martin ahead of Carlos Sainz and Hadjar, with Verstappen ending the session down in P6. Just behind, Alex Albon headed Leclerc and Lance Stroll as Antonelli rounded out the top 10.
