F1 | FP1 | Qatar GP | Piastri paces Norris, Verstappen 6th - Motorsport

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The only practice session for the F1 Qatar GP Sprint weekend is in the books as FP1 has been run, view the full report and results below.

Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri head into the weekend 24 points behind championship leader Lando Norris. Could they get off to a fast start in Lusail?

As the sun started to set, FP1 got underway with everyone going out on hard tyres to start with. Nico Hülkenberg was first to set a time with a 1:26.523.

Following a tyre prep lap, a 1:24.790 from George Russell put him 0.257s clear of Max Verstappen. Norris went P11 after a snap of oversteer in the last corner.

After Sainz and then Hülkenberg took P1, a 1:23.343 from Max Verstappen put him 0.882s ahead of the German. Piastri and Russell then slotted into P2 and P3, 0.188s and 0.381s slower than the Dutchman. The Aussie was purple in sector 2, the Brit in sector 3.

Sainz continued to be rapid, slotting into 2nd himself, half a tenth behind his former teammate at Toro Rosso.

In the final corner, Charles Leclerc got a small bit wide and kicked up some dirt as he went P12.

Out front, a 1:23.039 from Oscar Piastri moved him to the top, before George Russell responded seconds later by outpacing him by 0.077s. Once again the Mercedes driver was rapid in the last sector. As Max Verstappen looked to respond, he had a snap of oversteer in between turns 7 and 8 and had to abort after going purple in S1.

The times continue to tumble

Antonelli, Alonso and Verstappen all took their turns at the top of the leaderboard. However, George Russell came back once again as he did a 1:22.165 to go 0.207s quicker than the Red Bull driver. Hadjar, Alonso, Tsunoda, Antonelli, Sainz, Piastri, Albon and Leclerc was the top 10 as the 20-minute mark approached. Lando Norris and his McLaren teammate were sitting in the pits at this point.

Out of turn 10, Lando Norris had a snap and went off briefly, while Charles Leclerc was wide between turns 5 and 6. The Monegasque was complaining about the power steering, too. The Brit would then run wide out of turn 6 as he found a bit of gravel.

Eventually the championship leader put a lap together, but he could only go 11th on the timesheet, two places behind his stablemate. A second push came a few minutes later, moving up to P4.

Not only Charles Leclerc was struggling. Lewis Hamilton also found the gravel strip between turns 5 and 6 as the Ferrari cars proved tricky to handle.

All teams and drivers then set about long runs on the hards, Verstappen was complaining about jumping from the RB21 during his.

Russell, Verstappen, Hadjar, Norris, Alonso, Albon, Sainz, Tsunoda, Antonelli and Piastri was the top 10 with 20 minutes left on the clock.

Qualifying simulations begin

After Ollie Bearman went P3 on softs, Isack Hadjar smashed in a 1:21.819 to go P1 on the same tyre, 0.346s quicker than Russell’s hard tyre benchmark.

On the first soft lap, Lando Norris smashed in a 1:20.982 to go 0.369s faster than Oscar Piastri. Max Verstappen went into P3, 0.522s slower than the Brit. Mercedes struggled on the softs, only managing P7 and P8.

As drivers explored the limits, multiple drivers were finding the gravel strips right around the circuit, including the championship leader.

Out front, Oscar Piastri hit back in the McLaren battle as he pumped in a 1:20.924 to edge his teammate by 0.058s. It was a Spanish show behind them as Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz slotted into 3rd and 4th. Hadjar, Verstappen, Albon, Leclerc, Antonelli and Stroll filled the remainder of the top 10.

Hülkenberg, Hamilton, Tsunoda, Russell, Bearman, Bortoleto, Ocon, Gasly, Lawson and Colapinto filled the second half of the field.