On the brink of third F1 championship, Max Verstappen tops Qatar Grand Prix practice

DOHA, Qatar — Max Verstappen lapped fastest on Friday in the only practice session for a Qatar Grand Prix weekend set to crown him a triple Formula One world champion.

The weekend is run to a sprint format, with a 100km race on Saturday evening giving the Red Bull driver a first chance to secure the title at the Lusail circuit before Sunday's main event.

Verstappen set a best time of 1 minute 27.428 seconds, 0.334 quicker than Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, in a session with desert sand blown onto the track by swirling and gusting winds as the sun set.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was third fastest with Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso fourth, after being top with four minutes to go, and Red Bull's Sergio Perez fifth.

Perez is the only driver other than Verstappen mathematically in title contention, but the Mexican is 177 points adrift with six rounds remaining and a maximum of 180 points to be won.