McLaren’s attempt to win their first constructors’ title since 1998 received a boost after Lando Norris took pole for Saturday’s sprint race in Qatar, with team-mate Oscar Piastri third quickest. The two McLaren drivers were split by Mercedes’ George Russell.

Ferrari lie 24 points behind McLaren in the constructors’ championship, but the Scuderia look to be fractionally slower than McLaren around the super-quick Qatar circuit. Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc will line up fourth and fifth for Saturday’s 19-lap sprint race, which is worth eight points to the winner, down to one point for eighth place.

McLaren need a lead of 45 points over Ferrari by the end of the Qatar race weekend to wrap up the constructors’ title this week, otherwise it will roll on to the final race in Abu Dhabi next week.

After claiming sprint pole, Norris said it was pleasing to bounce back from his sixth place finish in Las Vegas last weekend, particularly given the cold, windy conditions which made life difficult for the drivers.

“Our target is a one-two, we want to maximise points for our constructor,” said Norris, whose dream of winning the drivers’ championship ended in Nevada. “We know Mercedes and Ferrari will be quick tomorrow.”

06:28 PM GMT

That is all set up well for tomorrow, then

Verstappen not really a factor in that qualifying. What can he drag out of the car tomorrow? Something a bit more. A reminder that the sprint race starts at 2pm GMT so we will be running our live coverage from around 1pm. Then the main qualifying takes place at 6pm.

06:22 PM GMT

Ferrari did not have the pace then

Surprise to see Russell up there? Not massively. Hamilton the lowest ranked of the top four teams’ drivers (other than Perez) which means he trails Russell 22-6 in all qualifying sessions this year. That is comprehensive.

06:20 PM GMT

Norris reacts

06:18 PM GMT

SQ3 - Classification

1. NOR 1:21.012

2. RUS +0.063

3. PIA +0.159

4. SAI +0.269

5. LEC +0.296

6. VER +0.303

7. HAM +0.462

8. GAS +0.966

9. HUL +1.076

10. LAW +1.565

06:16 PM GMT

LANDO NORRIS TAKES QATAR GP SPRINT POLE

Looked the class of the field and his first lap in SQ3 was good enough for sprint race pole. Verstappen in sixth.

06:16 PM GMT

SQ3 - What can Russell, Hamilton, and the Ferraris do?

Russell onto the front row! Within a tenth of Norris but cruciually behind. Sainz only fourth for Ferrari. Leclerc is even worse than that, fifth. Hamilton seventh.

06:15 PM GMT

SQ3 - Piastri is improving

He sets the fastest first sector time... he loses a bit of time in sector two, though. Hulkenberg posts a time good enough for seventh.

Norris aborts his lap and jumps into the pit lane... will his lap be good enough for pole? Piastri cannot beat it, and nor his previous time...

Verstappen not in contention here by the looks of it. He stays fourth...

06:13 PM GMT

SQ3 - Current order after thos first runs

1. NOR 1:21.012

2. PIA +0.159

3. RUS +0.274

4. VER +0.303

5. HAM+0.462

6. LEC +0.693

7. GAS +1.329

8. LAW +1.565

9. SAI +22.203

10. HUL (NO TIME)

Sainz and Hulkenberg without representative times.

06:12 PM GMT

SQ3 - Norris is going to destroy the best time so far

He crosses the line with a 1:21.012, a mighty lap. Piastri 0.159sec behind that. What can Verstappen do with the fastest final sector? Third, but Russell dislodges him soon after. Two decent laps from those two.

Hamilton into fifth, a couple of tenths off his team-mate Russell.

06:10 PM GMT

SQ3 - Verstappen does a second prep lap

Leclerc straight onto his push lap. Lawson leads the way at the moment with a 1:22.341 but that is going to be nowhere near pole position. Leclerc hitting slower cars through his hot lap and crosses the line with a 1:21.705. Half a second slower than Norris’s best time in SQ2...

06:07 PM GMT

SQ3 begins!

Eight frantic minutes to set the order for the sprint race tomorrow afternoon.

06:05 PM GMT

Liam Lawson scrapes through

Will do his chances of making that second Red Bull seat no harm.

06:01 PM GMT

SQ2 - Classification

1. NOR 1:21.231

2. RUS +0.257

3. PIA +0.317

4. HAM +0.503

5. VER +0.553

6. SAI +0.578

7. LEC +0.587

8. HUL +1.087

9. GAS +1.121

10. LAW +1.162

06:00 PM GMT

SQ2 ends - Norris fastest

Eliminated: Alonso, Albon, Bottas, Stroll, Magnussen.

05:59 PM GMT

SQ2 - Final runs under way

Alonso moves into the top 10, pushing Gasly out. Verstappen fourth but half a second down on Norris, who looks to have it hooked up today.

05:58 PM GMT

SQ2 - Norris improves to first

Piastri drops down to 14th after having his lap time deleted. He should be able to find the lap time he needs to get through this time, though he runs wide.

He crosses the line in third 0.317sec behind Norris - who had just gone first - and that should be enough to see him through.

05:57 PM GMT

SQ2 - Back to a Ferrari 1-2

That is before Russell beats them both by three-tenths. Piastri has a lap time deleted...

Lawson, Alonso, Stroll, Bottas and Magnussen in the drop zone.

05:56 PM GMT

SQ2 - Piastri does dislodge Leclerc, though

Less than a tenth in it. Piastri leads Leclerc, Norris and Verstappen all within 0.138sec.

05:55 PM GMT

SQ2 - Norris crosses the line to go second

Not much in it, just 0.043sec but he (below) does not dislodge the Ferrari of Leclerc from top spot.

05:53 PM GMT

SQ2 - Verstappen leads the way

But not for long... Leclerc knocks him off top spot by 0.058sec. The McLarens are on their first push laps now and looking good.

05:52 PM GMT

SQ2 - Eight minutes remain

Multiple drivers being investigated for going too slowly in that session. I think almost all of them. It is a difficult circuit to get out of the way with its layout.

05:50 PM GMT

SQ2 begins!

It’s a 10-minute session with 15 drivers, and 10 of them will make it through to SQ3.

05:49 PM GMT

I just don’t see how Perez stays at Red Bull in 2025

Lawson would be a bold bet but at this point what have Red Bull got to lose? Still cannot get my head around them not signing Sainz. Even Bottas might be a good bet at this point.

05:46 PM GMT

SQ1 - Classification with Norris fastest

1. NOR 1:21.356

2. SAI +0.482

3. RUS +0.665

4. VER +0.677

5. HAM +0.795

6. LEC +0.800

7. PIA +0.862

8. ALO +1.143

9. BOT +1.150

10. STR +1.166

11. MAG +1.204

12. HUL +1.213

13. GAS +1.230

14. LAW +1.349

15. ALB +1.362

05:44 PM GMT

SQ1 - Drivers out

Perez, Tsunoda, Ocon, Zhou, Colapinto.

05:44 PM GMT

SQ1 - Albon improves...

...to 15th and that knocks Perez out for what it’s worth. Not a lot these days. Tsunoda cannot lift himself out of the bottom five and is one place behind Perez.

05:43 PM GMT

SQ1 - Final runs under way

Hulkenberg aiming to get himself through, he is currently 19th. Norris improves by two-thirds of a second. Magnussen into seventh, Hulkenberg eighth. Perez now in the bottom five... can he dig himself out? He moves to 13th with his latest lap but that soon becomes 14th. I think he’s out here. Bottas seventh... Perez in peril.

05:42 PM GMT

SQ1 - Who is in danger of going out?

Stroll, Alonsom, Zhou, Hulkenberg and Colapinto are in the drop zone currently.

05:41 PM GMT

SQ1 - Russell matches Norris’s time

Nice. He is helped by a tow but not as much as his team-mate Hamilton, who moves eighth but 0.651sec behind his team-mate.

05:40 PM GMT

SQ1 - Gasly into fourth

Team-mate Ocon only manages 10th. Perez down in 18th but is improving. It has been a thoroughly miserable season. He moves up to ninth and I am not sure that will be good enough.

Lap times tumbling as Norris moves fastest again. Piastri appears to be struggling to beat it and crosses the line third, within two-tenths of his team-mate.

05:38 PM GMT

SQ1 - Four minutes to go

Leclerc now fastest with Sainz behind by just over a tenth to make it a Ferrari 1-2. Max Verstappen in third, 0.424sec off Leclerc’s fastest time. Norris’s previous best time is 0.6sec off Leclerc’s best time.

05:37 PM GMT

SQ1 - Norris crosses the line to go fastest

Perez’s first lap is 11th, Norris is nearly half a second faster than Leclerc. That is impressive. Russell 0.110sec off Norris after two sectors which isn’t too shabby.

Piastri crosses the line only sixth, nearly eight-tenths behind his team-mate. Plenty more laps to go as Russell moves second with the fastest final sector, within a tenth of Norris overall. Hamilton only ninth but that would be enough for him to get through.

05:35 PM GMT

SQ1 - Leclerc leads the way at the moment

A 1:23.529 is 0.032sec faster than Max Verstappen with Bottas in third with a good lap. Everyone on the medium tyres as is mandated. Norris has just gone fastest in the first sector in his McLaren.

05:33 PM GMT

SQ1 - Quite a few drivers out there now

That includes both Williams drivers as well as Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen.

05:30 PM GMT

SQ1 begins!

12 minutes long and five drivers will be eliminated at the end of it.

05:25 PM GMT

Team-mate qualifying head to heads in 2024

This is inclusive of sprint and grand prix qualifying sessions. Never before has Hamilton had a record this bad.

05:23 PM GMT

Less than 10 mins to go until SQ1 starts

A reminder that the format for sprint qualifying is essentially a shortened version of main qualifying with three mini-sessions where five drivers are eliminated from the first two parts and then 10 drivers go for pole in the final part.

05:20 PM GMT

Current constructor standings

As mentioned earlier in the day, three teams are still in the battle for for the championship though Red Bull’s hopes look to be a long shot given how badly Sergio Perez has been performing.

05:16 PM GMT

Max Verstappen: I’m ready to stay at Red Bull for rest of my life

Read Tom Cary’s full piece here.

05:03 PM GMT

Times after first practice

1. Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari 1min 21.953secs

2. Lando Norris (Gbr) McLaren 1:22.378

3. Oscar Piastri (Aus) McLaren 1:22.425

4. Carlos Sainz Jr. (Spa) Ferrari 1:22.535

5. Yuki Tsunoda (Jpn) RB 1:23.045

6. Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Kick Sauber 1:23.064

7. Lance Stroll (Can) Aston Martin 1:23.099

8. George Russell (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1:23.160

9. Alexander Albon (Tha) Williams 1:23.161

10. Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1:23.188

11. Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:23.213

12. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Aston Martin 1:23.227

13. Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Haas F1 1:23.245

14. Liam Lawson (Nzl) RB 1:23.562

15. Pierre Gasly (Fra) Alpine 1:23.620

16. Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas F1 1:23.715

17. Guanyu Zhou (Chn) Kick Sauber 1:23.880

18. Sergio Perez (Mex) Red Bull 1:24.039

19. Franco Colapinto (Arg) Williams 1:24.200

20. Esteban Ocon (Fra) Alpine 1:24.280,

05:01 PM GMT

Novak Djokovic knocking about

04:54 PM GMT

FP1 recap: Leclerc leads McLaren and Sainz

Constructors’ championship rivals Ferrari and McLaren filled the top four places in the only practice session for the Qatar Grand Prix on Friday, with Charles Leclerc topping the timesheets ahead of Lando Norris.

The pair are also fighting for second overall in a drivers’ championship already won by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen for the fourth year in a row.

Norris, currently second and 21 points ahead of Leclerc, lapped 0.425sec slower than Leclerc’s best effort of one minute and 21.953sec at the Lusail circuit. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was third and Carlos Sainz fourth for Ferrari.

McLaren, last constructors’ champions in 1998, lead Ferrari by 24 points with two rounds remaining and a total of 103 points still to be won in that battle as a result of a Saturday sprint in Qatar.

02:53 PM GMT

Either way, it is encouraging for Ferrari

They did not have high expectation and have not done anything yet, but they should be – at least – more competitive than they were expected to be.

We will be back for sprint qualifying which begins at 5.30pm GMT, so in around a couple of hours or so.

02:48 PM GMT

I was not expecting that order

It would be good if Ferrari were competitive here. Would be nice to see them battle with McLaren on track for the constructors’ title. Let’s see what happens in sprint qualifying. I think McLaren have a bit more to give.

02:37 PM GMT

FP1 - Classification

1. LEC 1:21.953

2. NOR +0.425

3. PIA +0.472

4. SAI +0.582

5. TSU +1.092

6. BOT +1.111

7. STR +1.146

8. RUS +1.207

9. ALB +1.208

10. HAM +1.235

11. VER +1.260

12. ALO +1.274

13. HUL +1.292

14. LAW +1.609

15. GAS +1.667

16. MAG +1.762

17. ZHO +1.927

18. PER +2.086

19. COL +2.247

20. OCO +2.327

Just two tenths between Tsunoda in fifth and Hulkenberg in 13th.

02:35 PM GMT

FP1 ends - A few cars out there still finishing laps

Bottas going fastest in the middle sector. He jumps from 13th to sixth...

Magnussen does not move higher than 16th in the Haas.  Leclerc, though, improves significantly to stay fastest and increase his margin over Norris to 0.425sec. Impressive and into the 1:21s.

02:30 PM GMT

FP1 - Into the final 10 minutes

Here is the top 10 as it stands:

1. LEC 1:22.242

2. NOR +0.136

3. PIA +0.183

4. SAI +0.740

5. STR +0.857

6. RUS +0.918

7. ALB +0.919

8. HAM +0.946

9. VER +0.971

10. ALO +0.985

It’s very close from first to third (0.183sec) and then from fifth to 10th (0.128sec). Perez down in 18th for some reason. Not sure what happened with his push lap.

02:27 PM GMT

FP1 - Piastri cannot go faster than Leclerc

0.183sec behind. Hamilton in sixth. Norris on a good lap, is it good enough for first? Nope. 0.136sec off Leclerc’s pace. Leclerc and the two McLarens are within two tenths of one another. Close.

02:26 PM GMT

FP1 - Poor lap from Sainz

He does improve his earlier lap time but stays second for now. Still 0.740sec behind his team-mate.

02:25 PM GMT

FP1 - Verstappen crosses the line to go third

0.145sec off Sainz’s time, ran wide towards the end. Stroll is up there ahead of Verstappen, as now is Russell. Leclerc improves to a 1:22.242 and Sainz does not look like matching that, being half a second down after two sectors...

02:24 PM GMT

FP1 - Onto the soft tyres for Mercedes

Let’s see what they have.

02:22 PM GMT

FP1 - Into the final 10 minutes

Hamilton, by the way, is down in 13th place as he begins his penultimate race weekend for Mercedes. It has not been going that well in recent weeks. A few drivers out there on the softs now, though not everybody. Albobn, Bottas, Colapinto and Zhou. Albon crosses the line to go third on his first hot lap on the soft tyres.

02:20 PM GMT

FP1 - Might Ferrari be a surprise package here?

Hard to say, really. These conditions are not entirely unrepresentative though we will have to wait until sprint qualifying is over before we really get a true picture.

02:19 PM GMT

FP1 - All quiet on track

Just Ocon, Sainz, Gasly and Colapinto out there and they will all, I assume, be ducking into the pit lane shortly.

02:14 PM GMT

FP1 - Perez on the radio

“That McLaren is flying,” he says. It is a Ferrari 1-2 currently, though.

02:12 PM GMT

FP1 - 20 mins to go

Here is the top 10:

1. SAI 1:23.068

2. LEC +0.351

3. NOR +0.658

4. GAS +0.661

5. VER +0.817

6. PIA +1.018

7. ALO +1.091

8. RUS +1.207

9. TSU +1.398

10. ALB +1.464

02:08 PM GMT

FP1 - Carlos Sainz makes it a Ferrari 1-2

He is 0.119sec off Leclerc’s fastest time with Lando Norris a further 0.188sec behind the Spaniard. Gasly runs wide and is worried about the floor of the car.

02:03 PM GMT

FP1 - Piastri runs wide at turn 15

He is behind team-mate Norris on track as well as in the order.

He has now let Charles Leclerc through and does the same with Verstappen, so is clealry not on a push lap. Lando Norris was but runs wide again after losing the rear end. Did well to keep it going forwards but that will have damaged his rear tyres a fair amount.

02:02 PM GMT

FP1 - Every car but the two Alpines out there now

Williams seem to be the only team focusing on the hard tyres this session. Most others out there on the mediums. Leclerc still leads the way ahead of Verstappen, Gasly, Norris, Sainz and Russell.

01:57 PM GMT

FP1 - Colapinto’s turn to run wide

Williams can ill afford any more damage, they have had so many expensive crashes this season at a total astronomical cost. Thankfully the Argentine gets away without any significant damage. Probably a few scratches to the bottom of the floor, though.

01:52 PM GMT

FP1 - Current order

1. LEC 1:23.702

2. VER +0.183

3. GAS +0.222

4. NOR +0.361

5. SAI +0.387

6. RUS +0.573

7. TSU +0.764

8. ALB +0.830

9. PER +1.293

10. PIA +1.489

01:50 PM GMT

FP1 - The Lawson vs Perez battle resumes...

We then see a replay of Perez running wide and nearly losing it at turn 15. He goes into the gravel strip but manages to keep it going.

Leclerc currently leads the way from Verstappen, Gasly, Norris and Sainz. All within four tenths. Hamilton complains of no stability.

01:48 PM GMT

FP1 - A bit of a mess out there at the moment

Cars tripping over others as some are on hot laps whilst others are on cooldown or warm-up laps. A difficult circuit for it because there are lots of medium-speed corners, especially in the middle part of the track from turn four to 10.

01:43 PM GMT

FP1 - Russell now top

0.076sec ahead of Lando Norris in the McLaren. It would be another surprise were Mercedes to win here this weekend but it has been a very unusual season... all 20 cars on track now.

01:39 PM GMT

FP1 - Tsunoda moves to the top in the RB

He is 0.368sec ahead of Verstappen, who has not yet come into the pits to change his helmet.

01:36 PM GMT

FP1 - Verstappen leads the way so far

A 1:26.338 is 1.117 faster than team-mate Sergio Perez at the moment. Verstappen complains that he has a lot of hair coming into his helmet and will come in to change it after this run, though not immediately.

01:35 PM GMT

FP1 - 56 mins remain

A fair few cars out there on track at the moment though no Hamilton yet.

01:30 PM GMT

FP1 begins

An hour session as the sun goes down just outside of Lusail.

01:23 PM GMT

News: Russell leads drivers’ criticism of Ben Sulayem as more key figures depart FIA

Read more from Tom Cary here. 

01:14 PM GMT

And the drivers’ standings with two rounds to go

Verstappen unassailable now, but still fairly close behind him.

01:09 PM GMT

Current constructor standings

McLaren can win the championship this weekend if they outscore Ferrari by 21 points.

12:58 PM GMT

And the last time Ferrari won the constructors’

Clearly a bittersweet championship because it was also the day that Felipe Massa lost the drivers’ title to Lewis Hamilton. I spoke to Massa’s race engineer at the time Rob Smedley earlier this year to talk about that season.

12:54 PM GMT

The last time McLaren were constructors’ champions

12:44 PM GMT

How the 2025 grid lines up

This is what we have so far, with just the one seat at RB to be confirmed. Of course, this is subject to some change in any case because one must have serious doubts that Sergio Perez will be in place at Red Bull at the start of 2025.

A few full-season rookies in there: Jack Doohan, Gabriel Bortoleto, Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman (it will be his first full season, but has raced for Ferrari and Haas in 2024). It would be a shame to see Bottas leave F1 but it looks like he is on GM/Cadillac’s radar for 2026 and would be a safe pair of hands.

12:28 PM GMT

Good afternoon

Welcome to our coverage for Friday’s action from the penultimate race of the season – the Qatar Grand Prix in Lusail. It is also the final sprint race of six in 2024, which means Friday runs with FP1 before sprint qualifying takes place under lights this evening. Tomorrow we have the sprint race first up before qualifying for the main race on Saturday. The race, as is mostly the case (but not always) takes place on Sunday afternoon.

Max Verstappen won the drivers’ title last weekend in Las Vegas, but there is still a championship on the line. McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull are all vying for the constructors’ title. Given their recent form Red Bull are an outside chance at best, but are still in it mathematically. The more realistic outcome is one of McLaren or Ferrari, with the former leading the latter by 24 points with two grands prix and one sprint race remaining.

The constructors’ championship is obviously clearly second to the drivers’ championship when it comes to interest but there is prestige (and money) associated with it. Both outfits have also gone a long time without this title – Ferrari’s last constructors’ title came in 2008 whilst McLaren’s was back in 1998, when Mika Hakkinen won his first drivers’ title. That is nearly two and a half years before current driver Oscar Piastri was born.

It would undoubtedly mean an enormous amount to either team to win it. Ferrari, though, come into this weekend a little downbeat. They did outscore McLaren to close the gap in Las Vegas but both drivers feel they did not maximise what they could have achieved. And there is little optimism that they will be competitive on Qatar’s slightly unusual layout this weekend.

In any case, FP1 begins at 1.30pm and we will be here for all of the updates and latest from Lusail with the sprint qualifying (the same format as qualifying but shorter).