Constructors’ championship rivals Ferrari and McLaren filled the top four places in the only practice session for the Qatar Grand Prix on Friday, with Charles Leclerc topping the timesheets ahead of Lando Norris.

Charles Leclerc saw off Lando Norris to finish fastest in practice for the Qatar Grand Prix. In the sole running prior to qualifying later on Friday for Saturday’s sprint race, Leclerc ended the session 0.

George Russell led growing criticism of FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem in the F1 paddock on Thursday night, calling for “greater clarity and stability” at motorsport’s world governing body on a day when two more senior figures departed, with one of them claiming he was “sacked by text message”.

Audi has sold a stake in its Formula One team to Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund ahead of the German manufacturer’s entry to the sport in 2026. Audi announced on Friday ahead of this weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix that the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) had acquired a “significant minority stake” in the team,

Qatar is buying a significant minority stake in Audi's Formula One team, the Gulf country's estimated $510 billion sovereign wealth fund and the German carmaker said on Friday. The holding will be almost a third of the team,