Charles Leclerc was fastest from Lando Norris ahead of Sprint Qualifying at the Qatar Grand Prix.

On a pivotal weekend in the Constructors’ Championship, Ferrari were flying in the only practice session as Leclerc beat Norris by 0.425s, with Oscar Piastri in third and Carlos Sainz in fourth.

Ferrari trail McLaren by 24 points in the standings with two events to go and made a strong start at the Lusail International Circuit.

Newly-crowned four-time world champion Max Verstappen was only 11th after a ragged flying lap on the softs, putting him behind Lewis Hamilton in 10th and George Russell in eighth, who were over one second down on Leclerc’s best time.

Mercedes were expecting to be strong for the second weekend running after their surprise one-two last time out in Las Vegas, but Hamilton and Russell appeared to be lacking outright speed in the high-speed corners.

Sprint Qualifying takes place later on Friday at 5.30pm – live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event.

Ferrari and McLaren set for big battle

On paper, the track layout should suit McLaren as they have been the benchmark in the faster turns throughout 2024 – and there are many of them at the Lusail International Circuit.

Ferrari were quick straight out of the blocks, though, as they were first and second on the hards, over six tenths clear of Norris in third, who was on the mediums.

Leclerc and Sainz underlined their blistering pace on the soft tyres, with both drivers setting their best laps on their second effort on the quickest rubber.

McLaren traditionally hold back in practice, though, so it could be a close fight for pole in Sprint Qualifying later on between the two teams fighting for the Constructors’ Championship.

Red Bull are 53 points behind McLaren, so need to be less than 45 points off the lead after Sunday to still be in mathematical contention, but Verstappen being 1.260 seconds off Leclerc in practice suggests it could be a tough weekend for the Milton Keynes-based team.

Sky Sports F1’s live Qatar GP schedule

Friday November 29
2.55pm: F1 Academy Practice Two
4.05pm: F2 Qualifying
5pm: Qatar GP Sprint Qualifying (qualifying starts at 5.30pm)*

Saturday November 30
12.10pm: F1 Academy Qualifying
1pm: Qatar GP Sprint build-up
2pm: QATAR GP SPRINT
3.30pm: Ted’s Sprint Notebook
4pm: F2 Sprint Race
5.15pm: Qatar GP Qualifying build-up
6pm: QATAR GP QUALIFYING
8pm: F1 Academy: Race One
8.45pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook

Sunday December 1
10.55am: F1 Academy Race Two
12.15pm: F2 Feature Race
2.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Qatar GP build-up
4pm: THE QATAR GRAND PRIX
6pm: Chequered Flag: Qatar GP reaction
7pm: Ted’s Notebook

*also live on Sky Sports Main Event

Formula 1’s season-ending triple-header continues this weekend with the Qatar Grand Prix, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream the final two F1 races and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership – No contract, cancel anytime

Callum Simpson and Caroline Dubois will defend their titles in a thrilling start to next year’s boxing schedule in Sheffield on January 11, live on Sky Sports.

Simpson will defend his British and Commonwealth super-middleweight titles against Steed Woodall, while Dubois faces Jessica Camara in a bout for the WBC Interim lightweight belt.

The undefeated Simpson will be looking to forge his own legacy at the Canon Medical Arena, having put his hometown of Barnsley on the boxing map with a dominant display to capture the titles in August.

Simpson proved his pulling power and boxing prowess by dethroning reigning champion Zak Chelli via a unanimous points decision in front of a sold-out crowd at Oakwell Stadium, and now makes the first defence of his belts against Birmingham’s Woodall.

“Winning the belts in Barnsley was a dream come true,” Simpson said. “It’s a moment I’ll never forget – hearing the crowd roar and seeing so many familiar faces made it extra special.

“Defending my titles in Sheffield is a great opportunity to bring even more people along for the ride and show them what I’m about. Yorkshire has such a proud boxing history. I want to do the county proud and add to that legacy.”

Woodall, the 30-year-old known as ‘The Stallion’, will be full of confidence after a career-best win over the previously unbeaten Lerrone Richards in June.

“Callum is young and eager to impress,” Woodall said. “I will use this to my advantage. He’s ticked all the boxes so far, but his chin and resilience hasn’t been tested. I expect fireworks in this fight!

“This type of fight has been a long time coming for me and is one I will relish. This win means everything to me and providing a better life for my daughter. Styles make fights and I don’t have to go looking for Callum as he will meet me in the middle, which is exactly the type of fight I excel in.”

Dubois faces Camara test in Sheffield

Dubois takes on Canada’s former world title challenger Camara, her first fight since dropping and defeating Maira Moneo to claim the WBC Interim lightweight title in August.

The 23-year-old, considered by many as the No 1 prospect in women’s boxing to challenge Katie Taylor’s throne, is targeting an all-British unification clash with current WBO lightweight champion Terri Harper.

Dubois must first get past former super-lightweight world title challenger Camara, the highly-ranked Canadian, who will be looking to derail the young Londoner’s promising career.

“Caroline has a big future ahead of her,” BOXXER Founder and CEO Ben Shalom said. “She has her sights set on world titles and unifications but will need to be at her best to overcome an experienced, world-level operator like Camara.

“What a start to the year. Two of the country’s brightest stars back in action for an unmissable night of boxing in Sheffield. Yorkshire has always been a hotbed for boxing talent.”

Sign up now for access to presale tickets and exclusive discounts at BOXXER.com.

In a heartfelt interview with Sky Sports, Ipswich’s Kalvin Phillips says he lost the “fire in the belly” for football in his two years at Man City before his loan move.

Phillips was tipped for big things after being moulded into an all-round defensive lynchpin by Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds and helping his boyhood club to promotion in 2020, before he was named England’s player of the year 12 months later.

His form for club and country brought Manchester City calling in the summer of 2022, but from there his upward curve quickly changed direction.

Phillips played just 290 minutes in his first season at the Etihad, and was labelled overweight by Pep Guardiola on his return from the Qatar World Cup that December.

The struggle for minutes was only exacerbated by a calamitous loan spell at West Ham in the second half of last season, where the 28-year-old became a figure of fun for his error-laden performances before he missed out on the England squad for Euro 2024 altogether.

Speaking to Sky Sports wearing the colours of Ipswich, where he moved on loan in August, Phillips revealed how much the limelight and notoriety surrounding his career at the Etihad has affected him – and why the search for a quieter life played a part in joining the Tractor Boys this summer.

“I knew a lot about the club, and it was a decision I wanted to make to get out of the eye line of the media so much and focus on playing football, focus on my family as well,” he said.

“At City, you can train with the best players every single day but if you’re not playing football every day, it’s difficult to stay fit, it’s difficult to stay confident.

“When there are times you’re feeling like you could play and the manager decides to go down a different route, it does hurt a little bit. The more I wasn’t playing, the less confident I got, the less fit I got.

“I just wanted to get that feeling back. I felt like I lost some fire in my belly to compete sometimes, but ever since I’ve been here, and even in pre-season when I played a lot of minutes I got that fire back, and made the decision to come here to play football and get back doing enjoying what I do.

“It has a similar feeling here to the season at Leeds when we got promoted. We’re different in what we do, we’re very intense and for me it’s about enjoying the season and for the lads too.”

Phillips’ fall from grace could not have been more public given his relative exile during City’s relentless winning streak, where he made just three starts across their Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League treble in 2023.

His lack of minutes, even with Pep Guardiola’s desire to rotate at times during that season, drew its own intrigue – which turned towards some stinging criticism in the second half of last season during his loan at the London Stadium.

“For everyone, it affects you,” Phillips said of the media spotlight. “If you read it it’s going to have an impact. I’m quite thick-skinned anyway, someone can say something to me and I’ll laugh it off.

“But when you’re not playing and people are making negative comments, it’s hard to show people what you’re capable of. That’s one thing I did struggle with.

“It’s amazing to say I’m part of a treble-winning team, I’ve won the league twice. But when you’re not involved as much as you’d like to be, it doesn’t feel the same. It was an amazing time and moment, but I feel like had I played more, got more of a chance, it would have felt more special.”

Phillips revealed the move to Suffolk has “lifted a weight” from his shoulders, having already bettered his league minutes from last season by the end of November.

That has been aided by the impact of Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna, who has worked one-on-one with the 28-year-old on the pressure he puts on himself on and off the pitch.

“The manager’s helped me in certain situations, which has helped me go out and enjoy every day and every game,” he revealed. “I get quite frustrated with myself at certain times, especially in training. I’m quite hot-headed and Kieran’s told me from the first day, don’t worry about it. It’s part of football, it’s a game of mistakes.

“As long as you can deal with certain mistakes better than others, that’s fine. He’s pushed me to be less hard on myself – my head might go for 10 minutes in a session and I’d lose more than gain anything doing that.

“I’ve thought about speaking to people, psychologists, and I’ve been a person who’s not really wanted to do that. But Kieran spoke to me about it, and I’m just about to speak to someone and see if they can shed any light on why I’m doing it.”

Of course, Ipswich’s main aim – and Phillips’ – is to avoid an instant return to the Championship this season, and a three-game unbeaten streak, plus their first win of the season, suggests they may have enough in the tank to do just that.

But on a personal note, the 31-cap England midfielder has another target in mind given his taste of the international stage, and integral part of his country’s run to the Euro 2020 final barely three years ago.

“For me personally, being back with England would be one of my main objectives,” he says. “Obviously I want to play as many games as I can anyway, but it would be a great feeling after missing the Euros.

“I was devastated about that, but I could understand it. It’s a good goal to get back there.”