The first section of the sprint weekend of the Qatar Grand Prix began in the light of electric lighting, the only practice session in which Charles Leclerc was fastest.
The sun was setting, there was a strong crosswind and many mistakes, this characterised the first third of the opening practice, in which Red Bull Racing "dominated". However, the big challenger McLaren looked quite unstable, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri both damaged their floor, as did Sergio Perez. In the meantime, Scuderia Ferrari slowly started to develop, switching from medium compounds to soft and taking the lead. Here Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc took turns taking the lead, with the latter eventually finishing the practice in first place. The unstable McLaren duo, led by Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, can expect to sprint qualify from second and third places.
