Practice report
Formula 1 Qatar GP
F1 Qatar GP: Oscar Piastri leads Lando Norris in sole Losail practice
Piastri pips Norris in the first and only practice session for Formula 1's Qatar Grand Prix
Filip Cleeren
Edited: Nov 28, 2025, 10:48 PM
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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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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
FP1
All Stats
Cla Driver # Chassis Engine Laps Time Interval Tyres km/h 1 O. Piastri McLaren 81
McLaren Mercedes 29
1'20.924
S 241.070 2 L. Norris McLaren 4
McLaren Mercedes 28
+0.058
1'20.982
0.058 S 240.897 3 F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing 14
Aston Martin Mercedes 26
+0.386
1'21.310
0.328 S 239.926 4 C. Sainz Williams 55
Williams Mercedes 20
+0.480
1'21.404
0.094 S 239.649 5 I. Hadjar Racing Bulls 6
RB Honda 30
+0.579
1'21.503
0.099 S 239.358 6 M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1
Red Bull Red Bull 27
+0.580
1'21.504
0.001 S 239.355 7 A. Albon Williams 23
Williams Mercedes 29
+0.685
1'21.609
0.105 S 239.047 8 C. Leclerc Ferrari 16
Ferrari Ferrari 31
+0.744
1'21.668
0.059 S 238.874 9 L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing 18
Aston Martin Mercedes 26
+0.745
1'21.669
0.001 S 238.871 10 A. Antonelli Mercedes 12
Mercedes Mercedes 32
+0.774
1'21.698
0.029 S 238.786 11 N. Hulkenberg Sauber 27
Sauber Ferrari 23
+0.859
1'21.783
0.085 S 238.538 12 L. Hamilton Ferrari 44
Ferrari Ferrari 28
+0.870
1'21.794
0.011 S 238.506 13 Y. Tsunoda Red Bull Racing 22
Red Bull Red Bull 28
+0.872
1'21.796
0.002 S 238.500 14 G. Russell Mercedes 63
Mercedes Mercedes 33
+0.900
1'21.824
0.028 S 238.419 15 O. Bearman Haas F1 Team 87
Haas Ferrari 26
+1.002
1'21.926
0.102 S 238.122 16 G. Bortoleto Sauber 5
Sauber Ferrari 29
+1.002
1'21.926
0.000 S 238.122 17 E. Ocon Haas F1 Team 31
Haas Ferrari 30
+1.172
1'22.096
0.170 S 237.629 18 P. Gasly Alpine 10
Alpine Renault 25
+1.500
1'22.424
0.328 S 236.683 19 L. Lawson Racing Bulls 30
RB Honda 30
+1.638
1'22.562
0.138 S 236.287 20 F. Colapinto Alpine 43
Alpine Renault 26
+2.605
1'23.529
0.967 H 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
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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