The single free practice session of the Qatar Grand Prix weekend delivered a familiar sight at the front: McLaren dominance. Oscar Piastri edged teammate Lando Norris by just 0.058s to top FP1 with a 1:20.924, while the pair pulled out a significant gap to the rest of the field. But with Ferrari looking distinctly uncomfortable in the midfield, the Scuderia’s title hopes – already fading – took another hit under the Lusail floodlights.
Oscar Piastri’s lap time was a whopping 1.454s quicker than McLaren’s best from 2024 FP1, part of a broader trend where every team shaved at least 1.196s off last year’s benchmarks. Aston Martin impressed in second courtesy of Fernando Alonso, but Ferrari’s quickest effort – a 1:21.668 from Charles Leclerc – left them a distant eighth, 0.744s off the ultimate pace.
Full FP1 best team lap times
| Position | Team | Best Lap Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLaren | 1:20.924 |
| 2 | Aston Martin | 1:21.310 |
| 3 | Williams | 1:21.404 |
| 4 | Racing Bulls | 1:21.503 |
| 5 | Red Bull | 1:21.504 |
| 6 | Ferrari | 1:21.668 |
| 7 | Mercedes | 1:21.698 |
| 8 | Sauber | 1:21.783 |
| 9 | Haas | 1:21.926 |
| 10 | Alpine | 1:22.424 |
Across the grid, lap times plunged dramatically compared to 2024’s FP1, with Aston Martin posting the biggest gain at 1.789s quicker. Williams followed close behind (-1.757s), while Ferrari’s modest improvement of just 0.285s stood out as the smallest – a worrying sign for Maranello as the new active aero rules appear to favour teams with stronger straight-line speed and better tyre prep.
2025 vs 2024 FP1 lap time improvements
| Team | Improvement (seconds) |
|---|---|
| Aston Martin | -1.789s |
| Williams | -1.757s |
| Red Bull | -1.709s |
| Racing Bulls | -1.542s |
| Mercedes | -1.462s |
| McLaren | -1.454s |
| Haas | -1.319s |
| Sauber | -1.281s |
| Alpine | -1.196s |
| Ferrari | -0.285s |
Team sector rankings: Where Ferrari lost time
Breaking down the sectors reveals why Ferrari looked so out of sorts. McLaren dominated Sector 1 and 3, but Williams stole the show in the twisty middle sector. Ferrari managed a respectable fourth in Sector 1 but plummeted to seventh in Sector 2 and eighth in Sector 3, costing them dearly in the overall ideal lap projection (80.784s, over a second off McLaren’s 80.712s).
For Leclerc and Hamilton, the lack of front-end bite was evident – Leclerc radioed complaints about “feeling nothing” from the steering early on, while Hamilton’s session included a gravel excursion at Turn 4. The SF-25’s instability on Lusail’s high-speed sweeps suggests setup tweaks are urgently needed before Sprint qualifying.
| Team | Sector 1 | Sector 2 | Sector 3 | Ideal Lap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| McLaren | 1st (29.577s) | 2nd (+0.020s) | 1st (23.572s) | 1st (80.712s) |
| Aston Martin | 2nd (+0.112s) | 3rd (+0.169s) | 2nd (+0.326s) | 2nd (+0.607s) |
| Mercedes | 3rd (+0.175s) | 7th (+0.238s) | 4th (+0.731s) | 3rd (+1.144s) |
| Sauber | 4th (+0.208s) | 4th (+0.051s) | 9th (+0.827s) | 8th (+1.086s) |
| Ferrari | 5th (+0.223s) | 8th (+0.270s) | 8th (+0.794s) | 7th (+1.287s) |
| Red Bull | 6th (+0.226s) | 9th (+0.300s) | 6th (+0.792s) | 5th (+1.318s) |
| Williams | 7th (+0.285s) | 1st (27.543s) | 3rd (+0.692s) | 4th (+0.969s) |
| Racing Bulls | 8th (+0.321s) | 5th (+0.058s) | 5th (+0.784s) | 6th (+1.163s) |
| Haas | 9th (+0.367s) | 10th (+0.514s) | 10th (+1.088s) | 9th (+2.069s) |
| Alpine | 10th (+0.518s) | 11th (+0.310s) | 11th (+1.561s) | 10th (+2.389s) |
Top 10 individual sector times: Leclerc and Hamilton in the mix, but not at the sharp end
Individually, Piastri and Norris traded blows across the sectors, with Norris fastest in the crucial Sector 3. Lewis Hamilton surprisingly led Sector 1 for Ferrari in 29.223s, but the team faded badly thereafter. Leclerc’s best was a sixth in Sector 3 (23.632s), but overall they couldn’t string a clean lap together.
| Driver | Sector 1 | Sector 2 | Sector 3 | Ideal Lap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Piastri | 1st (29.577s) | 7th (+0.136s) | 2nd (+0.078s) | 2nd (+0.192s) |
| Norris | 2nd (+0.002s) | 2nd (+0.020s) | 1st (23.572s) | 1st (80.714s) |
| Alonso | 3rd (+0.112s) | 5th (+0.065s) | 3rd (+0.169s) | 3rd (+0.556s) |
| Russell | 4th (+0.175s) | 10th (+0.238s) | 10th (+0.745s) | 9th (+1.158s) |
| Hulkenberg | 5th (+0.208s) | 3rd (+0.051s) | 9th (+0.825s) | 8th (+1.084s) |
| Hamilton | 6th (+0.223s) | 8th (+0.103s) | 8th (+0.745s) | 6th (+0.950s) |
| Verstappen | 7th (+0.226s) | 9th (+0.136s) | 7th (+0.354s) | 7th (+0.790s) |
| Sainz | 8th (+0.285s) | 1st (27.543s) | 4th (+0.690s) | 4th (+0.965s) |
| Bortoleto | 9th (+0.302s) | 4th (+0.237s) | 11th (+0.842s) | 10th (+1.381s) |
| Hadjar | 10th (+0.321s) | 11th (+0.238s) | 5th (+0.425s) | 5th (+0.895s) |
Charles Leclerc didn’t crack the top 10 in any sector, ending with a combined ideal of over a second off Norris. Hamilton showed flashes in Sector 1 but his overall P12 classification – including that early spin – highlights Ferrari’s woes. With tyre wear set to be a killer factor in both the Sprint and full Grand Prix, Maranello must unlock more pace overnight if they want to salvage anything from this weekend.
McLaren’s lockout sends a clear message to title rivals, but Verstappen’s underlying race pace from earlier analysis suggests Red Bull won’t panic just yet. For Ferrari fans, though, it’s another chapter in a frustrating 2025 – one that demands urgent answers before Abu Dhabi.
The 2025 Qatar GP weekend has opened with McLaren firmly on top. Aston Martin and Williams look competitive as well, while Red Bull appear stronger in long runs than in single laps. For Ferrari, however, FP1 exposed clear weaknesses: limited improvement compared to last year, inconsistent sector performance and a car still lacking stability. Both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton will need significant overnight gains if Ferrari are to challenge the front-runners in sprint qualifying and the race.
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