The first lap of the sprint weekend of the Qatar Grand Prix began in the spotlight, as did the only free practice session, in which Charles Leclerc was the fastest.
Setting sun, strong crosswinds, and numerous mistakes characterized the first third of the opening practice session, which Red Bull Racing "dominated." However, the main challenger, McLaren, appeared quite unstable, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri both suffering severe damage to their underbody, and Sergio Perez also experiencing similar problems. Meanwhile, Scuderia Ferrari slowly began to gain momentum, switching from medium to soft tires to take the lead. Here, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc set the fastest reference times, with the latter ultimately finishing in first place. The unstable-looking McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri await the upcoming sprint qualifying from second and third, respectively.
