Tight quarters come into play as teams get their first chance to test the Losail International Circuit in Qatar.
LOSAIL, Qatar—Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas took Friday practice sessions for Sunday’s maiden Orreddo Grand Prix of Qatar, with Bottas posting the best time of 1:23:148 in the evening session.
Being a very tight track because it hosts smaller cars and motorcycle races, the circuit was on drivers’ minds all week, especially because it is challenging for the tires. But drivers found the circuit smooth, and they were also able to control the temperature of their tires–especially during the second session, which was run under the lights.
That said, the circuit’s tightness did come into play. Multiple cars went off the track into stone gravel, an outcome that didn’t slow down many of the drivers. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc managed to escape the stones just minutes before the conclusion of the evening session, and Mick Schumacher, in the second Haas, was able to escape his off-track situation without suffering severe damage to his car.
When the action cleared for the day, Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri) finished second, Verstappen third, and rival Lewis Hamilton scored fourth place overall, four-tenths behind his teammate Bottas. McLaren’s Lando Norris finished fifth, and Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel (both Astin Martin) finished sixth and ninth, respectively. Like his Alpha Tauri teammate Gasly, Yuki Tsunoda finished in the top ten, taking seventh in an impressive drive–even leading at one point early on in the session. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez clocked in at #8 and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jr. finished tenth.
On the Constructor’s side of the competition, Aston Martin needs to improve their chances to challenge Alpine and Alpha Tauri for fifth place in the Constructor’s championship, and the results of Friday’s action gave hope.
One of the drivers who did not participate in the second session was Haas F1 driver Nikita Mazepin, who had to have his entire chassis repaired. That involved an overnight job so that Mazepin would be able to participate in Saturday’s practice three.
During Saturday’s Qualifying session, Bottas will be looking for his fourth consecutive pole since the time he signed for Alfa Romeo. Saturday’s action will be televised by ESPN2 with Free Practice 3 beginning at 6a Eastern and Qualifying following at 9a Eastern.
