Max Verstappen went quickest in the sole practice session for the 2023 FIA Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix, beating Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz by more than three tenths of a second in a session that was characterised by strong winds and low grip at Lusail circuit. 

Red Bull driver Verstappen claimed top spot in the latter stages of the session, bolting on a set of Soft tyres to post a lap of 1:27.428 that put him ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso who had sat at the top of the timesheet for much of the session.

Verstappen, who can claim his third title in a row with sixth place or better in tomorrow’s Sprint, was pushed hardest by Sainz who put in a Soft-shod lap of 1:27.762s, to finish 0.334s off the Dutchman in P2, while the Ferrari driver’s team-mate, Charles Leclerc, grabbed third place with a second run on Softs after his first was compromised by a snap of oversteer early in the lap. 

Alonso was therefore left with fourth place, a little under half a second off Verstappen and the top five order was rounded out by Sergio Pérez who finished 0.588 off his session-leading Red Bull team-mate. 

AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda put in a good late flyer to take sixth place overall, ahead of Haas’ Nico Hülkenberg. The German ended the session 0.044s ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell, who did not put in a Soft tyre run. Instead the British driver spent his time evaluating the Hard tyres and clearing the circuit of sand in the early stages as he pounded around. 

Ninth place on the timesheet went to McLaren’s Oscar Piastri with the Australian driver finishing just 0.017s ahead of team-mate Lando Norris.

2023 FIA Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix – Free Practice 1
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:27.428 26 223.136
2 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:27.762 0.334 27 222.287
3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:27.909 0.481 27 221.915
4 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:27.919 0.491 28 221.890
5 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:28.016 0.588 24 221.646
6 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT 1:28.027 0.599 28 221.618
7 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 1:28.171 0.743 22 221.256
8 George Russell Mercedes 1:28.336 0.908 28 220.843
9 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:28.380 0.952 20 220.733
10 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:28.441 1.013 24 220.580
11 Logan Sargeant Williams/Mercedes 1:28.550 1.122 25 220.309
12 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:28.590 1.162 26 220.209
13 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:28.679 1.251 26 219.988
14 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:28.690 1.262 28 219.961
15 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:28.732 1.304 25 219.857
16 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1:28.821 1.393 23 219.637
17 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:29.041 1.613 27 219.094
18 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:29.106 1.678 29 218.934
19 Liam Lawson AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT 1:29.238 1.810 29 218.610
20 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1:29.502 2.074 26 217.966