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Lorraine McKenna

  1. Go! Go! Go!

    Right then.

    Medium tyres fitted and 12 minutes on the clock.

    SQ1 is green.

    Fernando AlonsoGetty Images

  2. Listen to live commentary

    BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    Harry Benjamin, former McLaren mechanic Marc Priestley and BBC F1 correspondent Andrew Benson are back with us, so to tune in to live commentary, click the 'listen live' tab at the top of the page.

  3. Can Norris win the championship in Qatar?

    Top 10 driversBBC Sport

    Following McLaren's disqualification from the Las Vegas Grand Prix a week ago, the small bounty on offer for winning the sprint event has suddenly become a coveted prize. If Lando Norris had kept his second place in Sin City, he would've been 30 points ahead of Oscar Piastri and 42 clear of Max Verstappen. Instead, the gap is 24 points to both drivers heading into Saturday's race.

    Norris completed a clean sweep at the fifth sprint weekend in Sao Paulo at the start of the month, securing two pole positions and two wins across the three days of track action.

    Can seal his maiden title in Qatar? Yes he can. But only on Sunday.

    He needs to score two more points than Piastri and Verstappen over the course of the weekend to be crowned champion for the first time.

  4. What is the F1 sprint format?

    Lando Norris leads the sprint race in Sao PauloGetty Images

    Qatar is the final sprint event of the season, so if you need a little refersher, here it is.

    Sprint qualifying has three sessions, where the five slowest cars are eliminated from the first two - like normal qualifying.

    These sessions, known as SQ1, SQ2 and SQ3, last 12, 10 and eight minutes respectively. The Medium tyre must be used in the first two sessions followed by the soft compound for the sprint pole shootout.

    This will make up the grid for tomorrow's sprint race, which is 100km.

    The top eight finishers score points, from eight for first place to one for eighth spot, which will get added to the overall drivers' championship standings.

  5. Problems for Verstappen

    Andrew Benson
    BBC F1 correspondent

    Max Verstappen was 0.580secs off the pace after complaining of a number of problems with his car through the first practice session.

    The four-time world champion's problems included gearchanges, damping and clipping - running out of electrical energy.

    Max Verstappen leaves the Red Bull garage in QatarGetty Images

  6. Piastri tops first practice

    Oscar PiastriGetty Images

    Plenty of drivers had feedback for their pit walls during the only hour of practice running at the Lusail International Circuit but in the end it was Oscar Piastri who topped the session from title rival and McLaren team-mate Lando Norris and the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso.

    Max Verstappen had a long list of complaints for his Red Bull team and the Dutchman ended his session down in sixth place. Williams' Carlos Sainz and rookie Isack Hadjar completed the top five.

    Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc also struggled earlier on, as seven-time world champion Hamilton ended up 12th on the timesheets and Leclerc feeding back issues with steering.

  7. Welcome back

    Fans hold up sings for Isack HadjarGetty Images

    Hello again, folks. We're in sprint mode for the next two sessions, with qualifying for Saturday's shorter race taking place very shortly.

    Lights go green for SQ1 at 17:30 GMT.

    As the championship battle between Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen is so tight, securing pole position today could be crucial for any title ambitions this weekend, in the case of Norris, or at next week's final in Abu Dhabi.

    In case you missed it, Sunday's 57-lap main race is mandatory two-stop event, with tyres restricted to a maximum length of 25 laps of the Lusail International Circuit.

    However, this change doesn't affect the 19-lap sprint, so we'll park that information for the time being and focus on the shorter dash for now.

    Fans hold up sings for Lewis Hamilton in QatarGetty Images

  8. Report: Piastri edges title leader Norris in Qatar practice

    Andrew Benson
    BBC F1 correspondent

    Oscar PiastriGetty Images

    McLaren's Oscar Piastri out-paced title rival and team-mate Lando Norris in practice at the Qatar Grand Prix.

    The Australian, who trails Norris by 24 points in the championship with two races to go, edged the Briton by 0.058 seconds in the only session before sprint qualifying, which starts at 17:30 UK time.

    Norris, who will the championship on Sunday if he outscores both Piastri and Red Bull's Max Verstappen by two points over the weekend, was on a faster lap but ran wide out of the final corner.

    Verstappen was down in sixth place, 0.580secs off the pace after complaining of a number of problems with his car through the session.

    Read the full report here

  9. Sprint qualifying build-up from 17:15 GMT

    Oscar PiastriGetty Images

    Oscar Piastri was 0.058 seconds quicker than championship leader Lando Norris in that session, with fellow title contender Max Verstappen not happy with the running of his Red Bull and finishing down in sixth place.

    That's practice done, so the focus is competitive from now on until the chequered flag on Sunday.

    Go and grab yourselves a break and then come back and join us for sprint qualifying build-up at 17:15 GMT.

    The session goes green at 17:30.

    See you shortly!

  10. Get Involved - your Lando nerves

    As a Button, and now Norris, fan, I'm glad this season ended up with Lando being the hunter for most of it. 2009 was stressful in its own ways watching Jenson be hunted down (unsuccesfully) for half a season!

    Matt B

    Jenson ButtonGetty Images

    I want Lando to win the title, but would love him to DNF on Sunday for a spicy 3 way last day title fight

    James Eadon

  11. And the rest

    11. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)

    12. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)

    13. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull)

    14. George Russell (Mercedes)

    15. Oliver Bearman (Haas)

    16. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber)

    17. Esteban Ocon (Haas)

    18. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

    19. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)

    20. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)

  12. Top 10

    1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - 1:20.924

    2. Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.058

    3. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) +0.386

    4. Carlos Sainz (Williams) +0.480

    5. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) +0.579

    6. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.580

    7. Alex Albon (Williams) +0.685

    8. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.744

    9. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) +0.745

    10. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +0.774

  13. chequered flag

    Chequered flag

    Sprint qualifying, here we come.

    Oscar Piastri tops the one and only practice session in Qatar from his McLaren team-mate Lando Norris with a time of 1:20.924.

    Fernando Alonso is third in his Aston Martin and Max Verstappen ends his hour down in sixth place.

  14. Piastri jumps Norris

    The lack of podiums for Oscar Piastri since Monza has been alarming, so can the Australian at least get himself back in the top three this weekend? His latest flyer on the softs yeilds a 1:20.924, which is good enough to beat McLaren title rival Lando Norris.

    Sometimes forget Nicole Scherzinger was a paddock regular. Here comes the chequered flag...

  15. Get Involved - your Lando nerves

    I haven't been this nervous about an F1 title fight since Lewis in 2008.

    John Passman

    Nicole Scherzinger at 2008 Brazilian GPGetty Images

  16. Hadjar third fastest

    Lando Norris is half a second quicker than third and fourth but the drivers who occupy those places has now changed. Rookie Isack Hadjar is now above Max Verstappen but the gap between the Racing Bulls and Red Bull is tiny.

  17. Norris leads the way

    That's more like it from the McLaren drivers. Lando Norris, leading the championship by 24 points, goes into the 1:20s to sit 0.369 seconds clear of team-mate Oscar Piastri, with the other title contender Max Verstappen in third place.

  18. Alonso goes quickest

    The rookies have been pushed down the timing tower and Fernando Alonso is now the man to beat. The Spaniard clocks a 1:21.562 on his first soft lap to lead the way but here come the two McLarens...

  19. Hadjar goes top

    Oliver Bearman was in the points once again last weekend, taking 10th place and one point at the Las Vegas Grand Prix - his fifth consecutive top 10 finish.

    The Briton, who wouldn't have been able to celebrate his prize in Sin City, as he's not 21, flies up the order and goes third quickest, which is now fourth spot, because Isack Hadjar has put down a 1:21.819 on his soft run in the Racing Bulls to go top.

  20. The Red Bull is misbehaving for Max Verstappen and another radio message reveals more woes for the Dutchman. "Cliping out of Turn Six is a disaster," is his latest feedback for the team to digest.

    The circuit is quit now but a few soft-tyre runs are about to take place, with Haas, Racing Bulls and the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll all fitted with the red C3 rubber.