Qatar Grand Prix – Free Practice: Verstappen ahead of the Ferraris before qualifications
The Qatar Grand Prix takes place in sprint format. The only free practice session has just ended on a very abrasive track in Doha, while the sun was resting. It's Max Verstappen's Red Bull that takes the lead. He is ahead of the Ferraris.
No reliability or inattention problem came to disturb this one and only free practice session for 20 drivers in contention this weekend. The sprint format has reduced the number of free practice sessions to just an hour and a half this weekend and the drivers did not wish to lose a second.
« My god, it’s so slippery ». These are the first words of Max Verstappen during his warm-up lap on the Losail circuit. In the middle of the desert, in Qatar, the circuit has not had a race in recent days and the asphalt is filled with grains of sand. Even if the track was cleaned yesterday by machines, the wind, very present, continues to bring sand. In addition to this wind and therefore this complicated grip, the pavement here is particularly aggressive with the tires, precisely to compensate for the presence of sand. The result? The tires suffer. Pirelli thus arrived with the hardest tires in the range.
Some off-track excursions are to be noted but no accidents are to be regretted. The drivers have made their marks without however pushing the car to its limit. They are not allowed to make mistakes since in just a few hours the qualifications for the starting grid on Sunday are taking place.
Max Verstappen and Lando Norris notably hit the polystyrene foam panels of the “DRS” signals, further dirtying the track.
Although the drivers leading this session clocked their best time on soft tyres, some drivers like Alonso preferred to stay on medium and nevertheless climbed to the 4th rank. Russel, 8th, used the same strategy. On the McLaren side, it is interesting to note that it was the hard tyres that were mostly used in this session and the times of Piastri and Norris – respectively 9th and 10th – were thus clocked on hard tyres.
Please note that the next session, which will take place later this Friday, will define the starting grid for Sunday’s Grand Prix. Saturday’s day will be dedicated to qualifying for the sprint race and the sprint race.
The results of the free trials of the Qatar Grand Prix F1 2023
| N° | Driver | Team | Times | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Verstappen | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 1:27.428 | 26 | |
| 2 | Sainz | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:27.762 | +0.334 | 27 |
| 3 | Leclerc | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:27.909 | +0.481 | 27 |
| 4 | Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team | 1:27.919 | +0.491 | 28 |
| 5 | Perez | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 1:28.016 | +0.588 | 24 |
| 6 | Tsunoda | Scuderia AlphaTauri | 1:28.027 | +0.599 | 28 |
| 7 | Hülkenberg | MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | 1:28.171 | +0.743 | 22 |
| 8 | Russell | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport | 1:28.336 | +0.908 | 28 |
| 9 | Piastri | McLaren F1 Team | 1:28.380 | +0.952 | 20 |
| 10 | Norris | McLaren F1 Team | 1:28.441 | +1.013 | 24 |
| 11 | Sargeant | Williams Racing | 1:28.550 | +1.122 | 25 |
| 12 | Albon | Williams Racing | 1:28.590 | +1.162 | 26 |
| 13 | Hamilton | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport | 1:28.679 | +1.251 | 26 |
| 14 | Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team | 1:28.690 | +1.262 | 28 |
| 15 | Ocon | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 1:28.732 | +1.304 | 25 |
| 16 | Gasly | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 1:28.821 | +1.393 | 23 |
| 17 | Bottas | Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake | 1:29.041 | +1.613 | 27 |
| 18 | Guanyu | Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake | 1:29.106 | +1.678 | 29 |
| 19 | Lawson | Scuderia AlphaTauri | 1:29.238 | +1.810 | 29 |
| 20 | Magnussen | MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | 1:29.502 | +2.074 | 26 |
