Everything that happened in F1’s first practice in Qatar

Max Verstappen was quickest as the Formula 1 field learned Qatar Grand Prix venue Losail, while Lewis Hamilton was among those caught out by the track’s kerbs.

Key moments

– Lots of track time as drivers learn circuit
– Kerbs cause damage, including to Hamilton’s Mercedes
– Verstappen fastest on both main tyre types

Although the daylight practice one was not going to be hugely relevant for set-ups given qualifying and the race will be at dusk, the need for the field to learn the Losail circuit meant the full field went out for concerted running from the outset.

The low kerbs at this MotoGP-focused track invited drivers to run wide at corners, but also proved more vicious than they might’ve expected – particularly at Turn 14 near the end of the lap.

Mercedes called Hamilton in with 10 mintues to go having seen a “car issue” that turned out to be related to damage from kerbs. He was soon back on track.

Lando Norris’s McLaren cut out completely when he ran wide over the kerbs at Turn 14, leaving him cruising into the pitlane with the engine off. He was also quickly back in action.

But Nikita Mazepin’s session was curtailed by floor damage from running wide, and his Haas team-mate Mick Schumacher shot into the gravel at Turn 7 in the closing minutes.

The order at the front had changed constantly early on as drivers learned the circuit, with Daniel Ricciardo and Kimi Raikkonen among those having spells on top.

The order then settled with Verstappen fastest from the runs on hard and medium tyres in the first half of the session, and he was then fastest again with a 1m23.723s once soft tyre runs were complete.

It was a Red Bull brand 1-2 as while Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez was only sixth, Pierre Gasly made a late move to put AlphaTauri second.

Dust and sparks with Pierre in FP1 👀#QatarGP 🇶🇦 #F1 pic.twitter.com/oWcIp7di6I

— Formula 1 (@F1) November 19, 2021

The Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas and Hamilton were third and fourth ahead of the second AlphaTauri of Yuki Tsunoda.

Traffic was also an issue at times. Carlos Sainz flew over a run-off area dodging a slow-moving Mercedes, but he was the cause later on when Tsunoda put two wheels on the grass on the pits straight to avoid the Ferrari.

Aston Martin had a troubled session. While Sebastian Vettel’s problem – something loose in the cockpit – was temporary, Lance Stroll had to park early with a hydraulic issue that initially manifested itself as a brake-by-wire failure.

Practice 1 Results