Charles Leclerc led the field ahead of Constructors’ Championship rivals Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri at the F1 FP1 2024 Qatar GP.
Last time out in Las Vegas, Max Verstappen was crowned the 2024 F1 World Champion. However, McLaren and Ferrari are still locked in a battle for the Constructors’ Championship.
Green Light
The Alpine cars were first out on track as the rest of the grid slowly left the pits. Esteban Ocon set the first flying lap, immediately followed by Bottas and Tsunoda, who topped the timings.
Max Verstappen improved to P1 with a 1:26.338, his first flying lap of the session. The drivers were all starting to set laps on medium tyres.
The track was quickly improving, causing the times to tumble. The Ferrari and Williams cars were the only four on the hard tyres, while the rest of the grid was on mediums. A few drivers were struggling with traffic because every car was out on track.
The conflict between Lawson and Perez continued as Liam was unhappy with the way Perez passed him on track. Alonso also had issues with other cars getting too close while setting laps.
Charles Leclerc led the field on hard tyres as drivers started to pit. Meanwhile, Perez was the first driver to have a trip through the new gravel strip.
The Halfway Mark
Lando Norris was the third driver to take a trip through the gravel strip as we approached halfway through the session. The drivers were beginning to make their way back out of the pits and continue to set more laps.
Norris’s teammate Oscar Piastri also went off through the gravel strip. The McLaren duo both seemed to be struggling with their cars a bit. Norris had a huge snap on the same lap.
The Ferrari drivers were 1-2 on the hard tyres, yet to use the mediums in this session.
After Colapinto’s crashes in Brazil and Las Vegas, he is running William’s old suspension from towards the beginning of the year.
Carlos Sainz set the fastest lap of the session so far, a 1:23.068.
The Final Laps
The Williams duo were the first to switch to the soft tyres, and Albon jumped to third on the timing stands. The rest of the field then started to exit their pit garages on soft tyres for some qualifying simulations.
The cars continued to tumble as drivers set their fast laps. Leclerc’s P1-lap, a 1:22.242, was almost eight tenths faster than Sainz’s lap. Piastri and Norris quickly jumped to the top three of the standings, despite Piastri dipping a wheel in the gravel during his lap.
The cars continuing to improve as the checkered flag was waving in the only F1 practice session of the weekend. Bottas jumped into the top six at the last second.
Charles Leclerc was first in FP1 for the 2024 F1 Qatar GP. McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri rounded out the top three after struggling with rear instability throughout the session.
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