By Caitlyn Gordon
In a weekend which could decide the championship, Oscar Piastri topped the timing sheets five-tenths quicker than championship leader Lando Norris. The result was significant for the Australian: he hadn’t beaten his teammate since Belgium in July, nor been quickest in any practice session since Singapore in September.
How it unfolded…
With the sun-setting, the drivers took to the Lusail circuit in the sole practice session of the weekend in preparation for the final Sprint.
As the green flag indicated the start of the session, a queue of cars on hard compound tyres made their way onto the track. Optimising tyres will be crucial this weekend in Qatar, due to Pirelli issuing a mandated 25-lap limit on its tyres – leaving teams with little room for a variety of strategies come race day.
Max Verstappen found momentum early on, jumping to the top of the timings alongside George Russell’s Mercedes. After going eight-tenths clear at the top, the Dutchman’s timings started to drop after he reported issues with his tyres. It wasn’t the only trouble Verstappen faced with the four-time world champion noting difficulties with his steering wheel.
An issue that Charles Leclerc echoed later in the session, as the Monegasque continued to struggle with balance. They both continued to struggle with Verstappen finishing in sixth and Leclerc in eighth. While one of the Ferraris was able to finish in the top ten, the other continued to struggle with Lewis Hamilton rounding out the session in 12th.
The pair of McLarens struggled in the opening half of the session, with Lando Norris at the rooted bottom of the timings. A quick visit in the garage for set-up changes brought some hope at the halfway mark, but as the Briton went back out on the track the best time he could do placed him in P20. Piastri was running in the ninth but struggled with the breezy conditions and lack of grip on the track.
It wasn’t until later in the session that the McLarens began to showcase their full potential during their soft-tyre runs, with the pair racking in quicker times. Piastri grabbed a time of 1:20.924 which secured the top spot of the timesheets. While Norris was improving he was unable to find additional pace to challenge his teammate, finishing five-tenths behind the Australian in second.
A lot of talk surrounding Aston Martin took place this week, with the news of Adrian Newey set to become team principal from 2026 onwards. The team remained in the spotlight as Fernando Alonso surprised in practice, finishing third overall with a 1:21.310. The team sit one point behind Haas in the constructor standings, with Alonso’s time beckoning hope that a strong weekend of points is on the cards.
It was another impressive session from Williams with Carlos Sainz finishing in fourth and Alex Albon closely behind in seventh. The result continues a string of positive results for the Grove-based team.
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