Clearly. Dry. Air +36…34С, highway +47…39С
In 2023, the weekend in Qatar was held in a sprint format on Saturday, there was only one training session, which made the task more complicated for those who had not previously participated in Losail.
There was no round in Qatar last year, no one racing the current generation of cars here, so the session proved to be intense – and one of the hottest of the season.
The sand on the track was a big problem. The organizers tried to remove it, but the strong wind did not allow the flags to be unfurled in the stands and brought more and more sand from the desert. There was a haze over the track, as if it were raining, cars were skidding, drivers were complaining about lack of grip and poor visibility.
The sun was setting and the artificial light was turned on.
Leclerc, Verstappen, Ocon, Albon and Hamilton drove off the track causing sand clouds, wide safety zones made it possible to avoid consequences for the cars, but their lap times were canceled, like many others.
Norris used his front fender to knock over the foam sign indicating the distance to the turn and continued driving. Leclerc had problems with the power plant software, he returned to the pits and soon left again.
Max Verstappen led the protocol and completed a lap in 1:27.428.
Results of the first session
| Pilot | Team | Time | Difference | Circles |
| 1. M. Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:27,428 | – | 26 |
| 2. K. Sainz | Ferrari | 1:27,762 | +0.334 | 27 |
| 3. S. Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:27,909 | +0.481 | 27 |
| 4. F. Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:27,919 | +0.491 | 28 |
| 5. C. Perez | Red Bull | 1:28.016 | +0.588 | 24 |
| 6. Yu.Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 1:28,027 | +0.599 | 28 |
| 7. N. Hulkenberg | Hare | 1:28,171 | +0.743 | 22 |
| 8. D. Russell | Mercedes | 1:28,336 | +0.908 | 29 |
| 9. O. Piastri | McLaren | 1:28,380 | +0.952 | 20 |
| 10. L.Norris | McLaren | 1:28,441 | +1,013 | 24 |
| 11. L. Sargent | Williams | 1:28,550 | +1,122 | 25 |
| 12. A. Elbon | Williams | 1:28,590 | +1,162 | 26 |
| 13. L.Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:28,679 | +1,251 | 26 |
| 14. L. Walk | Aston Martin | 1:28,690 | +1,262 | 28 |
| 15. E.Okon | Alps | 1:28,732 | +1,304 | 25 |
| 16. P. Gasly | Alps | 1:28,821 | +1,393 | 23 |
| 17. V. Bottas | Alfa Romeo | 1:29,041 | +1,613 | 27 |
| 18. G.Zhou | Alfa Romeo | 1:29,106 | +1,678 | 29 |
| 19. L. Lawson | AlphaTauri | 1:29,238 | +1,810 | 29 |
| 20. K. Magnussen | Hare | 1:29,502 | +2,074 | 26 |
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
