The first session of free practice for the Qatar Grand Prix saw Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc post the sixth and seventh fastest times respectively. However, the main aim for Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow in this first hour was for the drivers to put in as many laps as possible to learn the new track.
53 laps. Ferrari did the second highest number of laps of any team: 26 for Carlos and 27 for Charles. They both started on Medium tyres, their times getting progressively faster, eventually getting down to a 1’25”617 for Leclerc and a 1’26”045 for Sainz. In the second half of the session, they switched to Soft tyres with which Carlos lapped in a 1’24”713 and Charles stopped the clocks in 1’24”790.
Programme. The second free practice session starts at 17 (15 CET).