First Free Practice Report & Results 2025 Qatar Formula 1 GP

Event: Qatar F1 Grand Prix
Track: Lusail International Circuit

Weather: dry 26°C
Tarmac: dry 32°C
Humidity : 47%
Wind: 3.2 km/h North
Pressure: 1017 mbar

FP1 Report: McLaren Strike First Under the Lusail Lights as Qatar Opens the 2025 Showdown

A One-Shot Practice With a Championship Twist

Under the shimmering Lusail floodlights and with desert winds swirling across the circuit, Formula 1’s first and only practice session for the 2025 Qatar Grand Prix delivered exactly what a title-deciding weekend deserves: chaos, curveballs and a McLaren statement.

With Lando Norris arriving in Qatar just 24 points ahead of Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen, the pressure was already bubbling before FP1 even began. Add the Sprint format – meaning this was the only practice teams would get – and suddenly every lap carried the weight of a qualifying sim.

And as the dust settled, McLaren walked away looking the sharpest outfit in the paddock.

McLaren Flip the Script With Late Soft-Tyre Firepower

For more than half the session, McLaren looked strangely muted. Norris was stuck near the bottom of the screens, complaining he had no idea where 1.6 seconds of lost pace had wandered off to, while Piastri was cruising in the no-man's-land of ninth.

Then the soft tyres came out.

On the red-walled rubber, everything clicked. Norris briefly stole the spotlight with a 1:20.982, only to have Piastri drop the hammer moments later, finding a lap good enough to top the session by 0.058s. The Australian’s 1:20.924 was just four tenths shy of last year’s pole time – and he even had more time in hand.

Norris might have joined him, but he took too much kerb and had to abandon his next push. Not ideal for the championship leader, but McLaren still leave FP1 looking like favourites for the evening’s Sprint Qualifying.

Alonso Stars, Williams Surprise, Hadjar Shocks

Behind the papaya cars, the real treat came from the midfield. Fernando Alonso looked like a man who absolutely refuses to let age apply to him – sliding his Aston Martin up to third place with all the swagger you'd expect from a two-time champ.

Williams delivered one of the shocks of the session too, with Carlos Sainz sticking his FW47 in the top five while Alex Albon flirted with the upper ranks for most of the hour. Team boss James Vowles sounded almost suspicious of his own car’s pace.

And then came Isack Hadjar. The rookie lit up the timing screen with a spectacular soft-tyre lap to go fastest at one stage. It didn’t hold, but the kid made a statement – and not for the first time this year.

Ferrari on the Back Foot as Hamilton Struggles

Ferrari? Well… they’ll want to pretend FP1 never happened.

Lewis Hamilton struggled with grip, understeer and adventures over the gravel. His early run wide certainly didn’t do the Ferrari floor any favours. Charles Leclerc, meanwhile, complained he “cannot feel a thing” as he fought the steering wheel lap after lap. When the softs arrived, neither driver found a breakthrough – Hamilton finished only ninth, Leclerc thirteenth.

On a weekend where Hamilton still hopes to grab at least one podium in his first year with the Scuderia, the Prancing Horse looked more like a confused pony.

Red Bull Troubles Continue as Verstappen Rages Over the Radio

Max Verstappen offered the most colourful team radio of the afternoon, and not in a celebratory way. His RB21 misbehaved from the moment he left the pits. Steering issues here, gear-shift problems there, tyre wear everywhere. He ran wide several times and openly questioned how his car was losing so much time out of Turn 6.

He still managed sixth, because of course he did – it’s Verstappen – but he ends the session looking irritated and far from confident.

And with his championship hopes hanging by a thread, this was not the ideal start.

Mercedes Quick on Long Runs, Untidy on Softs

Mercedes looked competitive early on, with George Russell leading the long-run pace on the hard tyres. But once the softs arrived, Russell made an error on his flyer and ended up only twelfth. Kimi Antonelli, meanwhile, quietly put in his laps and finished a solid ninth before the soft-tyre chaos reshuffled the field.

Both drivers suggested the car feels strong in race trim – but Sprint Qualifying is coming fast, and one session of practice doesn’t give anyone much room to fix weaknesses.

Track Evolution, Wind and Tyre Rules Make Life Difficult

The track was slippery early on, with several drivers bouncing through the gravel as the wind picked up sand from the surrounding desert. Rubber build-up came slowly, and with all teams restricted to a maximum of 25 laps per tyre – including the hards – nobody was willing to waste precious sets.

The medium compound is mandatory for Sprint Quali’s SQ1 and SQ2 later on, making the soft-tyre runs in FP1 the only proper low-fuel reference before tonight’s showdown.

No wonder everyone looked tense.

The Championship Picture Heading Into Sprint Qualifying

Norris stays in the driver's seat – literally and figuratively. Piastri looks rejuvenated. Verstappen looks like he wants to karate-chop his RB21. And Ferrari are still trying to figure out which way is forward.

With the sun now setting over Lusail, Sprint Qualifying tonight will tell us whether McLaren’s FP1 pace is real, or whether Red Bull, Ferrari or Mercedes were simply holding their cards close.

But if FP1 taught us anything, it’s that this weekend could swing wildly at any moment. The stage is set. The lights will go out again soon. And with the championship on the line, brace yourself, Qatar is only just getting started.

FP1 Times Table 2025 Qatar GP

In the end the quickest sector times were:

• Sector 1: 29.577 sec. by Oscar Piastri (McLaren MCL39).
• Sector 2: 27.543 sec. by Carlos Sainz (Williams FW47).
• Sector 3: 23.572 sec. by Lando Norris (McLaren MCL39).

The quickest FP1 lap time in last outing back in 2024 was a 1:21,953 min set by Charles Leclerc with the Ferrari SF-24.

✅ Don't forget to check out our 2025 Qatar Formula 1 Grand Prix Preview.

About the author

Leopold

Leopold Pleijsier founded F1-Fansite.com in 2001 and has followed Formula 1 since the early 1980s. He writes about daily F1 news, race weekends, drivers and the sport’s history.

Related topics