In Qatar’s first practice, Max Verstappen set the fastest time. This was a good start to the weekend, which he is likely to use to win his third world title.
The Dutch driver was 0.334 seconds faster than Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari. Charles Leclerc’s second Ferrari was in third place.
Fernando Alonso, driving an Aston Martin, came in fourth place with the slower medium tires. The three cars ahead of you were on soft tires.
Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, who are ninth and tenth for McLaren, set their best times on hard tires.
Eighth place went to George Russell, who was also on medium tires. Lewis Hamilton, who drives for Mercedes, was 13th.
Even though Red Bull seemed to be having a rough workout, Verstappen set the fastest time.
At least as many times as any other driver, Verstappen went off the track, and he spent most of the practice session in the back of the pack before his final run.
Coming up on Saturday, Verstappen is expected to win the title, as long as he doesn’t lose more than six points to Sergio Perez, who is on the same team. A win is worth eight points, and eighth place is worth only one point.
With his soft-tyre run at the end of the session, Sergio Perez moved up from last place to fifth.
Alpha Tauri’s Yuki Tsunoda was sixth fastest, while Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg was third fastest. Russell and the McLarens were next.
