Charles Leclerc heads McLaren duo in sole Qatar F1 practice
Charles Leclerc sets the pace for Ferrari ahead of McLaren duo in Qatar practice.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc outpaced the McLaren pair to top the one and only practice session at the F1 Qatar Grand Prix.
Leclerc produced a 1m21.953 lap on soft tyres right at the end of the session to edge out Lando Norris to the fastest time by 0.425s, while Oscar Piastri was 0.472s behind in third in the other McLaren.
Carlos Sainz was fourth, a full second adrift of his teammate, as the top four places were made up by the two protagonists in the battle for constructors’ world championship glory.
McLaren come into the penultimate race of the season at the Lusail circuit 24 points clear of Ferrari as they seek to win the constructors’ title for the first time since 1998.
Yuki Tsunoda was an eye-catching fifth for RB, ahead of Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas in a surprise sixth, and Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin.
Following his dominant victory last time out in Las Vegas, George Russell was only eighth-quickest and 1.2s off the pace.
Williams driver Alex Albon and Russell’s seven-time world champion teammate Lewis Hamilton rounded out the top-10.
Newly-crowned four-time world champion Max Verstappen was only 11th for Red Bull.
Qualifying for Saturday’s sprint race gets underway at 8.30pm local time (5.30pm GMT).
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