Max Verstappen reports gearbox 'disaster' as Oscar Piastri aces Qatar practice

Oscar Piastri made a dream start to the Qatar Grand Prix by topping the only practice session, whilst Max Verstappen complained that his gearbox clipping at Turn 6 was a "disaster".

Piastri topped practice in Qatar after posting a 1:20.924, to go just 0.058s faster than McLaren team-mate Lando Norris.

Norris can seal a maiden drivers' title this weekend if he out scores Verstappen and Oscar Piastri by two points, but found the start of practice difficult on the hard compound.

Verstappen could only salvage sixth-quickest and was almost six-tenths slower than Piastri, raising concerns for Red Bull ahead of Sprint qualifying. The Dutchman was left frustrated with his gear changes throughout the session. 

Fernando Alonso went third, ahead of Carlos Sainz, Isack Hadjar, Verstappen, Alex Albon, Charles Leclerc, Kimi Antonelli and Lance Stroll.

As the sun began to set at a beautifully warm Lusail International Circuit, there was a mad rush to get out onto the track for the only practice session of the weekend. 

For McLaren, it was its first time on a circuit since its shock double disqualification in Las Vegas. Understanding how quickly the tyres would wear was a significant task in practice, with a new rule having been introduced solely for Qatar. 

It was agreed by F1, the FIA and Pirelli that to mitigate the risk of tyre blowouts, each tyre could only be used for a maximum of 25 laps. As a result, Sunday's grand prix will be at least a two-stopper.

Heat is traditionally an issue for the drivers in Qatar, with Russell having reported over the Mercedes radio after just seven minutes that his "cockpit is hot". Moments later, staggeringly, Verstappen reported that "the front left is already giving up".

It was hard tyres galore at the start of the session, with Russell having topped the timesheets after 15 minutes on a 1:22.962. As well as being hard tyres galore, the start of the session was complaints galore, with Verstappen and Leclerc having been unhappy with their steering.

Leclerc's steering frustrations continued after a venture off the circuit with 35 minutes remaining, to which Ferrari informed the Monegasque it could not currently make any alterations to the steering.

Halfway into practice and Russell remained the driver to beat, although the Briton's best lap time had improved to a 1:22.165. Several drivers – including both McLarens – had moments off the circuit, with wind gusts having made life difficult. 

Concerningly for the papaya squad, Piastri and Norris sat in ninth and 11th at the 30-minute mark. Still, no medium or soft tyre had been seen. 

As for Verstappen, he sat in second at the time but reported that his gears had "gone to ****". Soon after, he complained that "this clipping out of Turn 6 is a disaster".

With 15 minutes remaining, Russell remained quickest in the session on an improved 1:22.165. The track became silent as practice entered its final quarter, as the field dropped the hard compound for a set of softs. It made the timing screen come alive with green and purple sectors.

Hadjar went quickest on a 1:21.819, as all eyes turned to the title contenders. Norris shot to the top on a 1:20.982, as McLaren partner Piastri went second but nearly four-tenths adrift. As for Verstappen, he went third but over five-tenths slower than Norris.

However, on the second soft tyre push laps, only Piastri managed to improve of the title contenders to go fastest, whilst Alonso, Sainz and Hadjar went quicker than Verstappen. Lewis Hamilton and George Russell could only manage 12th and 14th, respectively.