Verstappen fastest as track conditions cause issues in Qatar Grand Prix practice

Cal Gaunt
Friday 6 October 2023 18:00 - Updated: 12:29

Tricky conditions affected a number of drivers in practice as Red Bull's Max Verstappen was the fastest around Qatar’s Losail International Circuit.

Wind, sand, dust and a slowly setting sun made the track particularly difficult to navigate in the weekend's only practice session, with qualifying taking place later on Friday ahead of Saturday’s sprint.

Verstappen finished 0.334 ahead of Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, with his team-mate Charles Leclerc in third.

Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso and Verstappen's team-mate Sergio Perez took fourth and fifth, while Mercedes' George Russell and Lewis Hamilton struggled to P8 and P13 respectively.

READ MORE: Former F1 driver delivers PERFECT analogy for Verstappen and RB19

Perfect start for Verstappen

Max Verstappen knows that he only requires three points to secure his third world title in Qatar, and he'll have no doubt been pleased to top the timings in practice.

In what seemed like a challenging session for Red Bull, the Dutchman encountered several off-track moments, at least as many as those experienced by other drivers.

For much of the session, he found himself in a lower position before making his final run, as did Perez, who leapt from last into fifth place with a soft tyre run towards the end of the session.

Alonso impresses

Fernando Alonso had led the session leading into the last 30 minutes, and his subsequent time of 1:27.919 secured him fourth place overall.

This achievement was notable considering the evident grip advantage provided by soft tyres, with Alonso staying out and setting his time on the slower mediums.

Drivers struggle with Qatari conditions

Practice was largely dominated by talk of difficult driving conditions, with Leclerc, Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Alex Albon among those who struggled to keep their cars on the track.

Norris' front wing sliced through a polystyrene board early in the otherwise quite uneventful session.

Qatar Grand Prix FP1 practice results - Friday October 6

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull): 1:27.428s

2. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari): +0.334s

3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari): +0.481s

4. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin): +0.491s

5. Sergio Perez (Red Bull): +0.588s

6. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri): +0.599s

7. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas): +0.743s

8. George Russell (Mercedes): +0.908s

9. Oscar Piastri (McLaren): +0.952s

10. Lando Norris (McLaren): +1.013s

11. Logan Sargeant (Williams): +1.122s

12. Alex Albon (Williams): +1.162s

13. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes): +1.251s

14. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin): +1.262s

15. Esteban Ocon (Alpine): +1.304s

16. Pierre Gasly (Alpine): +1.393s

17. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo): +1.613s

18. Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo): +1.678

19. Liam Lawson (AlphaTauri): +1.810s

20. Kevin Magnussen (Haas): +2.074s

READ MORE: F1 Results Today: Qatar Grand Prix practice times as Verstappen gets perfect start in tough conditions