McLaren Duo Sets the Pace in Qatar
Lando Norris found himself narrowly beaten by his very own teammate and championship rival, Oscar Piastri, during the sole practice session for the Qatar Grand Prix. The two McLaren drivers topped the timesheets, with Norris finishing a mere 0.058 seconds behind Piastri in a tense start to the penultimate race weekend.
Verstappen's Red Bull Struggles
While the McLarens flourished, the main threat to their title aspirations, Max Verstappen, endured a difficult hour on track. The Red Bull driver, who won emphatically in Las Vegas just six days ago, finished a distant sixth, 0.580 seconds off the pace. Verstappen was heard complaining bitterly over the team radio, describing his car's gear shifts with an expletive and labelling his exit from the sixth corner a "disaster".
The session's running order saw Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso take third place, with the team's new principal, Adrian Newey, observing from the pit wall. Carlos Sainz was fourth for Williams, while Isack Hadjar impressed with fifth for Racing Bulls.
Title Implications After Vegas Disqualification
The battle for the championship intensified dramatically following the events of the previous round. Norris had been on course to arrive in Qatar with a commanding 30-point lead over Piastri and a 42-point advantage over Verstappen. However, his disqualification from second place in Las Vegas for running an illegal car has drastically tightened the standings.
Norris now heads into this critical weekend with a 24-point lead over both Piastri and Verstappen. This twist has handed a significant initiative to Verstappen, a driver who has won four of the last eight races, despite his apparent lack of speed in practice.
Further down the field, Lewis Hamilton had a session to forget, finishing down in 12th place, nearly nine-tenths of a second behind the leaders and four places behind the other Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.
The action continues later on Friday with qualifying for Saturday's 25-lap sprint race, which is scheduled for 20:30 local time (17:30 GMT).
