Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc led McLaren’s Lando Norris in practice at the Qatar Grand Prix.

Leclerc was 0.425 seconds ahead of Norris as the two teams who are disputing the constructors’ championship locked out the top four positions in the only session before sprint qualifying later on Friday.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was third fastest, 0.472secs slower than Leclerc, and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz fourth.

Newly crowned world champion Max Verstappen, who tied up his fourth world title in Las Vegas last weekend, was only ninth fastest after running wide because of an error on his fastest lap.

RB’s Yuki Tsunoda and Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas were fifth and sixth, ahead of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll.

The Mercedes of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton in eighth and 10th places were split by Williams’ Alex Albon.

A number of drivers ran wide over the kerbs, and traffic was a problem throughout a busy session, but there were no crashes or other incidents.

McLaren lead Ferrari by 24 points in the constructors’ championship with 103 points still available. Red Bull are third, 53 points off the lead.

Sprint qualifying starts at 17:30 UK time. It sets the grid for the shorter sprint race that takes place at 14:00 UK time on Saturday, before qualifying for the grand prix at 18:00.