Oscar Piastri led a dominant McLaren 1-2 in Friday’s only practice session at the Qatar Grand Prix.
After a tricky start for both McLaren drivers, they showed their true pace during the soft-tyre runs. Initially, Lando Norris held a 0.3s advantage over teammate Piastri.
However, Piastri responded on his second effort on the softs, putting together a strong final sector to pip Norris at the top of the timesheets. Norris was also improving on his second lap but made a mistake in the final sector.
With two rounds to go, there are just 24 points separating the McLaren pair. This means Norris could clinch the title this weekend, becoming McLaren’s first world champion since 2008.
Piastri hasn’t beaten his teammate in a grand prix (when both drivers have finished) since the Belgian Grand Prix in July. The Australian is now level on points with Max Verstappen, who remains an outsider for the title.
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Verstappen was only sixth-fastest and voiced complaints over team radio about how his RB21 was handling. He will need significant improvement ahead of sprint qualifying to challenge the two McLarens.
Fernando Alonso was McLaren’s nearest challenger, setting the third-fastest time. Isack Hadjar and Carlos Sainz rounded out the top five.
Alex Albon made it two Williams cars inside the top seven, capping off a strong session for the team. The leading Ferrari was Charles Leclerc in eighth, who lamented a lack of feeling behind the wheel of his car.
Lance Stroll and Kimi Antonelli completed the top 10 in FP1.
2025 F1 Qatar Grand Prix – Practice Results (1)1Oscar PiastriAUSMcLaren F1 Team1m20.924s2Lando NorrisGBRMcLaren F1 Team1m20.982s3Fernando AlonsoESPAston Martin Aramco F1 Team1m21.310s4Carlos SainzESPAtlassian Williams Racing1m21.404s5Isack HadjarFRAVisa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team1m21.503s6Max VerstappenNEDOracle Red Bull Racing1m21.504s7Alex AlbonTHAAtlassian Williams Racing1m21.609s8Charles LeclercMONScuderia Ferrari HP1m21.668s9Lance StrollCANAston Martin Aramco F1 Team1m21.669s10Kimi AntonelliITAMercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team1m21.698s11Nico HulkenbergGERStake F1 Team Kick Sauber1m21.783s12Lewis HamiltonGBRScuderia Ferrari HP1m21.794s13Yuki TsunodaJPNOracle Red Bull Racing1m21.796s14George RussellGBRMercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team1m21.824s15Oliver BearmanGBRMoneyGram Haas F1 Team1m21.926s16Gabriel BortoletoBRAStake F1 Team Kick Sauber1m21.926s17Esteban OconFRAMoneyGram Haas F1 Team1m22.096s18Pierre GaslyFRABWT Alpine F1 Team1m22.424s19Liam LawsonNZLVisa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team1m22.562s20Franco ColapintoARGBWT Alpine F1 Team1m23.529s
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