Verstappen heads mixed-up order in crucial sole Qatar practice
The Red Bull driver will win his third consecutive drivers’ world title if he scores at least three points - the equivalent of a sixth-place finish - in Saturday’s sprint race at Losail.
Verstappen started the weekend as he will hope to go on by finishing 0.334s clear of Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari in Friday’s only practice session ahead of qualifying.
Charles Leclerc was 0.481s adrift of Verstappen in the second Ferrari, while Fernando Alonso set an eye-catching lap time on medium tyres to put his Aston Martin fourth.
Sergio Perez was 0.588s down on his Red Bull teammate as the Mexican completed the top-five in a session where dusty track conditions and a lack of grip made things exceptionally tricky for the drivers.
AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda ended up sixth, ahead of fellow soft-shod runner Nico Hulkenberg.
A late improvement saw George Russell pop his Mercedes into the top-10, ahead of the McLaren pair of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
The Williams duo of Logan Sargeant and Alex Albon ran soft tyres as they finished 11th and 12th, with Lewis Hamilton only 13th fastest as neither Mercedes driver used Pirelli’s softest compound amid a mix of tyre strategies.
Qualifying for Sunday's Qatar Grand Prix takes place under the lights at 6pm UK time.
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