The first part of the Qatari Grand Prix sprint weekend began under electric lights, marking its only practice session, in which Charles Leclerc proved to be the fastest.
With the setting sun, strong crosswinds, and numerous mistakes, the opening practice's first third was characterized by the dominance of Red Bull Racing. However, the major challenger McLaren seemed quite unstable, with both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri severely damaging their floor plates, and Sergio Perez faced similar issues. Meanwhile, Scuderia Ferrari gradually started to emerge, switching from medium to soft tires and taking the lead. Here, either Carlos Sainz or Charles Leclerc set the reference time, with the latter ultimately finishing the session at the top. The seemingly unstable McLaren duo, led by Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, will be looking forward to the upcoming sprint qualifying from the second and third positions.
