Following the double disqualification in Las Vegas, the McLaren drivers will be hungry to score maximum points this weekend in Qatar. Norris’ title chances are well within reach now so it’s all about performing and keeping his teammate and reigning champion Max Verstappen at bay.
FP1 took place today under the setting sun and golden sky. As the 20 drivers return to the dessert, let’s see who looked good in this first session.
Russell leads the session
The countdown to free practice hit zero all 19 drivers besides Alonso didn’t wait to get some time on the circuit. Once the timed laps came in, it was Verstappen who initially looked quick. His first time was a 1:23.343 on the hard tyre compound. Challenging him for pace was George Russell who was flying in the third sector and Piastri in the middle sector.
Charles Leclerc in his Ferrari was lucky to keep his car going as he was seen going wide and kicking up dust in the final corner. In the first 10 minutes of the session, he found himself down in P13. His teammate Hamilton was faring slightly better in P8 at the time. Hamilton qualified last in Vegas so is hoping for a better weekend.
With the championship on the line, Oscar Piastri knows he needs a great performance in Qatar to take the battle to Abu Dhabi next week. He was able to go purple in all three sectors on his third run but his time was quickly beaten by George Russell and Carlos Sainz in the Williams.
Norris’ early runs raise concerns
Lando Norris spent the first half of FP1 sat dead last. He and his teammate has small set up changes in the session but Norris was still yet to set a competitive time. The Brit had gone off the track a few times on his runs, suggesting he was struggling.
He did manage to improve his time into the session, good enough for 11th. His teammate also had a scare, struggling with grip and nearly losing control of his car. He was only P9 at the time so not much better than Norris.
As the sun set, Norris was able to get better grip, and while still far from ideal, he did produce a time that placed him P4 with about 14 minutes left to go.
Mechanical grip catches out many
Racing here in the desert, many drivers were finding a lack of grip and control. With near misses and many snaps of oversteer, Lusail was tricky to master. Verstappen came onto the radio several times to complain about his inability to efficiently control the car. Both Ferrari drivers had taken detours off the circuit at various corners, showing that they aren’t in a competitive place at the moment.
The wind on the circuit was not helping anyone’s laps. All 20 drivers remained on the Hard tyres for the majority of FP1, with the mediums being required for Sprint Qualifying a bit later on.
“This clipping out of Turn 6 is a disaster, just no pace out of the corner!” – Max Verstappen on his radio in FP1
Max Verstappen has been the most vocal today complaining about his lack of grip and issues with his tyres. Despite his comments, he sits 2nd on the time sheet. With 12 minutes remaining in the session, the soft tyres began to come out .
Soft Tyres are the final chance
Switching to the soft tyres will produce quicker laps than on the hard tyres, but for Norris, this switch was crucial. His team had made some adjustments to his suspension and this seemed to be what he needed to get back to normal. Three purple sectors sent him quickly to P1, his teammate 4 tenths behind him at the time.
5 minutes to go and the entire grid had switched to soft tyres. The high speed corners became an issue for a few drivers as both Stroll and Colapinto had misjudged their entry speed and kicked a huge amount of gravel onto the track.
FP1 ended with Piastri being the top driver, leading his teammate by 6 hundredths. Alonso finished an impressive third, followed by Carlos Sainz, Isack Hadjar and Verstappen down in 6th position.