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Author: Darshan Chokhani
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Brazil GP: Ocon fastest in dry FP2 from Perez, Russell
Esteban Ocon set the pace in FP2 of F1 Brazil GP ahead of Sergio Perez and George Russell, with the sprint race to come.
With a dry weather at Interlagos, Alpine’s Ocon set the pace in FP2 of F1 Brazil GP with a 1m14.604s lap as he was faster from Red Bull’s Perez (1m14.788s) and Mercedes’ Russell (1m14.916s) in the Top 3. The session was relatively clean with no mishap whatsoever.
The other Alpine of Fernando Alonso (1m15.049s) was fourth on the medium tyres, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (1m15.098s) in fifth ahead of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton (1m15.137s) as AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly (1m15.636s) was seventh from both the Haas drivers in the pack.
Mick Schumacher (1m15.684s) was ahead of his teammate Kevin Magnussen (1m15.815s) in eighth and ninth with the Dane gearing up for a pole start later in the sprint race. McLaren’s Lando Norris (1m15.851s) was 10th, feeling much better after food poisoning on Thursday.
The latter two set the pace on the medium tyres. The lead Ferrari or Carlos Sainz was 11th in the order with teammate Charles Leclerc 13th. AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda was 12th in between, as McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo slotted in 14th.
The first of Alfa Romeo was of Valtteri Bottas in 15th from the lead Williams of Nicholas Latifi. The pair of Aston Martin were 17th and 18th where Lance Stroll was ahead of Sebastian Vettel as Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu ended up 19th from Williams’ Logan Sargeant who picked up one more superlicense point.
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Brazil GP: Magnussen has first F1 pole amid red flag and rain
Kevin Magnussen took F1 Brazil GP pole for the sprint race from Max Verstappen and George Russell after red flag and rain.
Q1:
The first part in F1 Brazil GP qualifying at Interlagos, it was a intermediate start after rain between FP1 and qualifying in the sprint weekend. But with no rain in the air, drivers started to switch to slick compound in a gamble mode.
There twitchy moments for several in tricky conditions as Haas’ Kevin Magnussen had his lap deleted. AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly was the first to switch to the soft compound with others following suit as the lap times started to lower down.
It was late improvements for many as Ferrari just managed to make it through to Q2 finishing 12th and 14th. McLaren’s Lando Norris was the fastest after all the hectic running with a 1m13.106s lap from Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Alpine’s Fernando Alonso.
The bottom half saw Williams’ Nicholas Latifi (1m15.095s) just miss out in 16th from the Alfa Romeo pair of Zhou Guanyu (1m15.197s) & Valtteri Bottas (1m15.486s), while AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda (1m16.264s) was 19th and Haa’s Mick Schumacher (1m16.361s) 20th.
Q2:
It was dry running in second part of F1 Brazil GP qualifying but some gambled on old sets from Q1 for their first run where Mercedes were the late ones to switch. They got the lap in at the right time as it started raining towards the business end.
Despite that, lap times continued to improve. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen set the pace with a 1m10.881s lap where he led Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc in the Top 3. The bottom half was decided just before the chequered flag fell.
Williams’ Alexander Albon (1m11.631s) lost it by 0.044s after he selected to pit with AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly (1m11.675s) in 12th after replays showed him racing Alpine’s Fernando Alonso – where the latter made it in the Top 10.
Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel (1m11.678s) was 13th as replays showed an off moment at Turn 1 which hampered his attempt with teammate Lance Stroll (1m12.210s) 15th behind McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo (1m12.140s).
Q3:
It was dark to start with in final part of F1 Brazil GP qualifying where Leclerc was on the intermediate tyres to soft compound for rest of the nine drivers. The Monegasque didn’t pit and continued on to set a lap but eventually pitted to switch to slicks.
There was more misery for Ferrari as a red flag stalled their progress after Mercedes’ George Russell beached himself in the gravel. He went off and while trying to save himself he did a donut which got him beached in the gravel and session over for him.
It was Haas’ Magnussen on provisional pole with a 1m11.674s lap from Red Bull’s Verstappen and Russell in the Top 3. McLaren’s Norris was fourth from Sainz, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon & Alonso, Hamilton, Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Leclerc in the Top 10.
With rain falling, Perez ventured out on the intermediate but eventually pitted without setting a lap, while the likes of Leclerc and Verstappen were already out of the car. Hamilton ventured out as well but pitted without setting a lap.
That secured first-ever pole for Magnussen and Haas in F1 where he is due to start the Staurday’s sprint race in first place alongside 2022 champion Verstappen (1m11.877s). Despite the one causing the red flag, Russell (1m12.059s) was third from Norris (1m12.263s) and Sainz (1m12.357s) in the Top 5.
The Spaniard will serve his penalty in the Sunday’s grand prix, as Ocon (1m12.425s) was sixth from Alonso (1m12.504s), Hamilton (1m12.611s), Perez (1m15.601s) and Leclerc (8m43.744s) in the Top 10.
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Brazil GP: Perez quickest in FP1 as Top 3 separated by 0.008s
Sergio Perez led the way in FP1 of F1 Brazil GP from Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen with Top 3 separated by 0.008s.
The all-important FP1 session in F1 Brazil GP at Interlagos due to it being a sprint weekend saw Red Bull lead the way where Sergio Perez (1m11.853s) headed from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc (1m11.857s), who set a late lap to be second – only 0.004s away.
In fact, Max Verstappen (1m11.861s) in third was only 0.008s behind Perez as Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz (1m12.039s) was fourth with a new ICE installed in his car. The Spaniard is to get a 5-place grid penalty as he headed the Mercedes pair who also put in a late lap.
Lewis Hamilton (1m12.040s) had to undertake multiple laps to be third after his initial quick lap was hampered due to a wide moment. George Russell (1m12.0.55s) was sixth from Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel (1m12.157s) with Haas’ Mick Schumacher (1m12.314s) in eighth.
Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas (1m12.466s) in ninth and AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly (1m12.467s) made it four different cars in the latter part of the Top 10, with Alpine’s Fernando Alonso just missing out. But the Spaniard set his best time on the medium tyres.
As did his teammate Esteban Ocon in 13th behind Williams’ Alexander Albon on the soft tyres. There were twitchy moments for multiple drivers including Verstappen, Sainz, Gasly and Alonso where the Frenchman complained of the car sliding too much.
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was 14th after he faced some issues during the session which the team could fix, with McLaren’s Lando Norris in 15th on the medium tyres. The Brit started the weekend after a late scare due to food poisoning.
Nyck de Vries was on standby after a seat fit on Thursday. Haas’ Kevin Magnussen was 16th from Williams’ Nicholas Latifi with Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu 18th, AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda 19th and McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo 20th – the latter two were on the medium tyres.
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MotoGP: Rins wins Valencia GP as Bagnaia takes 2022 title
Alex Rins wins Valencia GP from Brad Binder and Jorge Martin as Francesco Bagnaia secured the 2022 MotoGP title.
It was a hectic start to MotoGP finale in Valencia GP as title contenders Fabio Quartararo and Francesco Bagnaia went wheel-to-wheel for multiple laps for track position on their Yamaha and Ducati machines. They even touched where the latter lost a winglet.
The two gave it all but Quartararo had the last laugh to stay ahead even though he wasn’t still winning the MotoGP title then. At the front, Suzuki’s Alex Rins led the Valencia GP after a strong start with pole-sitter Jorge Martin in second in his Pramac Ducati.
Honda’s Marc Marquez was third for the starting few laps but Ducati’s Jack Miller took third from him after shedding off both Quartararo and Bagnaia. The Australian at one point fell behind the two but he got back up on pace in the fight for the podium places.
Marquez was fourth from Quartararo who fended off KTM’s Brad Binder for couple of laps. The South African was sixth after passing Bagnaia, who dropped to seventh. Suzuki’s Joan Mir was eighth from KTM’s Miguel Oliviera and VR46 Ducati’s Luca Marini in the Top 10.
Oliveira passed Marini early on after Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales dropped back. His teammate Aleix Espargaro retired due to a mechanical issue as the grand prix saw five crashes in a span of few laps with six retirements in the first part itself.
Honda’s Pol Espargaro was first to crash followed by RNF Yamaha’s Darryn Binder with LCR Honda’s Alex Marquez next, RNF’s Cal Crutchlow then and finally Honda’s Marquez from third. Only one Honda and two Yamaha bikes were running in the grand prix then.
With Rins leading from Martin and Miller, Quartararo was fourth from Binder as Bagnaia came under fire from Mir soon. Oliveira was eighth from Marini as Gresini Ducati’s Enea Bastianini was 10th where the Italian firm to secure third if he finishes the race.
As the Top 3 led the way, Binder started to close in on Quartararo and eventually passed him for fourth as Oliveira cleared Bagnaia for seventh behind. Marini closed in on the MotoGP title contender with Bastianini in the Top 10.
Bagnaia lost to Marini and Bastianini to be 10th as a transponder issue for Mir didn’t show him in sixth where he was running. Vinales was another to retire due to a mechanical issue, as at the front the fight was on for second position.
Martin held on to second but Binder passed Miller for third in his chase to register a win. The Australian crashed out in his last race for Ducati promoting Quartararo to fourth. Mir was fifth from Oliveira, Bastianini, Bagnaia and Yamaha’s Franco Morbidelli in the Top 10.
At the front, Rins held onto the lead to win Valencia GP in the last race for Suzuki in MotoGP as Binder was up to second after passing Martin to complete the podium. Quartararo was fourth as he lost the title to Bagnaia.
The Italian came back from being down by nearly 100 points to eventually win his first MotoGP title and he first Italian to win the championship since Valentino Rossi did so in 2009. Ducati also completed the set of three titles in 2022.
With Quartararo in fourth, Oliveira passed Mir for fifth as Marini was seventh, Bastianini eighth, Bagnaia ninth and Morbidelli in the Top 10. VR6’s Marco Bezzecchi was 11th in points from Tech 3 KTM pair of Raul Fernandez & Remy Gardner.
The Top 15 points position was rounded out by Gresini’s Fabio di Giannantonio and LCR’s Takaaki Nakagami, with Crutchlow and A Marquez re-joining the race in 16th and 17th.
DNF: Miller, Zarco, Vinales, Marquez, Binder, A Espargaro, P Espargaro
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MotoGP: Martin on pole in Valencia GP; contenders outside Top 3
Jorge Martin takes MotoGP pole in Valencia GP from Marc Marquez and Jack Miller, with contenders in fourth and eighth.
Q1:
The first part in MotoGP qualifying in Valencia saw Suzuki’s Alex Rins set the pace early on with a 1m30.230s from Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales as Gresini Ducati’s Enea Bastianini was just on the bubble along with Yamaha’s Franco Morbidelli.
Amid the final runs, Honda’s Pol Espargaro went down along with Bastianini which ended their chances of a Q2 run. At the front, Vinales pressed on the gas with a 1m30.090s lap to make it in Q2 along with Rins, who ended up second in the end.
Bastianini was third to start 13th despite his crash with KTM’s Miguel Oliveira jumping to 14th from LCR Honda’s Alex Marquez pushing Morbidelli to 16th. RNF Yamaha’s Cal Crutchlow was 17th from VR46 Ducati’s Marco Bezzecchi.
The Italian managed to take part in qualifying despite his crash and fire in FP3, as did Tech 3 KTM’s Raul Fernandez who was declared fit after his FP3 fall. Gresini’s Fabio di Giannantonio was 19th from Tech 3’s Remy Gardner and LCR’s Takaaki Nakagami.
Honda’s Espargaro was 22nd after his fall with Tech 3’s Fernandez managing to be 23rd despite his earlier crash as RNF’s Darryn Binder rounded out in 24th.
Q2:
The second part in MotoGP qualifying in Valencia GP where Pramac Ducati’s Jorge Martin led the way initially with a 1m29.621s lap from Ducati’s Jack Miller and Suzuki’s Rins. One half of the title contender – Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo – was fourth.
While Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia was only 11th after his first run. Amid the final runs, Ducati’s Miller had a crash with Pramac’s Johann Zarco also falling down. Martin eventually stayed on top to take MotoGP pole in Valencia GP with his original lap.
Honda’s Marc Marquez pushed himself up to second with Miller in third despite his crash. Quartararo was fourth amid dangers of yellow flag as Rins was fifth from Vinales and KTM’s Brad Binder. The Frenchman did have a moment on his final attempt.
But he was fourth still with MotoGP points leader Bagnaia was eighth from Zarco, Espargaro, VR46’s Luca Marini and Suzuki’s Joan Mir in the Top 12.
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Mexico GP: Verstappen takes record-breaking 14th win of 2022 season
Max Verstappen put on a dominant show to win F1 Mexico GP from Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez to break a record.
It was a clean start from pole-sitter Max Verstappen in F1 Mexico GP in his Red Bull on the soft tyres as the two Mercedes drivers had a hefty fight where Lewis Hamilton managed to clear teammate George Russell who tried a move on the Dutchman.
A kerb moment in Turn 2-3 allowed Red Bull’s Sergio Perez to pass Russell for third as the Ferrari pair of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc gained places to be fifth and sixth with Alpine’s Fernando Alonso also jumping up to seventh in the order.
Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas had a slow start to be eighth with McLaren’s Lando Norris dropping to 10th behind Alpine’s Esteban Ocon. The fight outside the Top 10 saw McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo pass Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu for 12th after few laps of battle.
It was a solid start from Aston Martin pair of Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll who were up to 14th and 15th but the Canadian had AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly chasing him. The Frenchman locked-up and forced the Canadian off to pass him.
Gasly was handed a 5s penalty with 11 superlicense points. At the front, Verstappen continued to lead well from Hamilton and Perez. The Mexican was first to pit among the front runners but a slow stop dropped him behind the Ferrari pair.
Verstappen went late and managed to clear both the Ferrari drivers and come out in third. Mercedes waited a bit and eventually pitted Hamilton to switch to the hard tyres who soon had Perez on his tail. Russell – without stopping – led the way in F1 Mexico GP.
He wanted stay longer but his slow times forced them to switch strategy and put on the hard tyres where he returned to track in fourth. Verstappen got the F1 Mexico GP lead from Hamilton, Perez, Russell, Sainz and Leclerc in the Top 6.
Alonso was seventh from Ocon who leapfrogged Bottas in the pits but the Finn was close on his tail in the fight for eighth, as Norris was 10th. Just outside the Top 10, AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda had to fend off Ricciardo in the fight for 11th.
The Australian pressed on and tried a move on the inside but Tsunoda turned in as there was a clumsy touch which put the Japanese off. Both managed to continue on but the AlphaTauri suffered way too much damage to continue on and was forced to retire.
The incident was put under investigation as Ricciardo was handed a 10s time penalty. But McLaren wasted no time and allowed him to Norris which got him close to Bottas and he passed the Finn for ninth. He then set off in the chase of the two Alpine cars.
He eventually did so. Ocon first passed Alonso and the Ricciardo followed. The Australian then passed the Frenchman to be seventh as he then had to stretch out a 10s lead to remain in the points where Norris was chasing Bottas for 10th.
The Brit eventually passed the Finn for what became ninth after Alonso retired due to power unit issue. The Spaniard was extremely angry post the retirement as he was in the car and on the radio as Virtual Safety Car was deployed to clear the car.
At the front, Verstappen had a comfortable F1 Mexico GP win by 15.186s to register a record-breaking 14th win in a season with two more races to go. Hamilton was second as Perez was third from Russell, who took away the fastest lap on the final lap.
Sainz was fifth from Leclerc, with Ricciardo in seventh as he managed to retain the track position despite the 10s time penalty. Ocon was eighth from Norris as Bottas kept 10th despite the late push from Gasly and Albon towards the end.
Guanyu ended up 13th from Vettel, Stroll with the Haas pair of Mick Schumacher in 16th from Kevin Magnussen while Williams’ Nicholas Latifi was 18th – everyone from Ricciardo to the Dane ended up a lap down while the Canadian was down by two laps.
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Mexico GP: Verstappen takes pole from Russell, Hamilton
Max Verstappen was dominant in F1 Mexico GP qualifying taking pole from Mercedes pair of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton.
Q1:
The first part in F1 qualifying in Mexico GP saw Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton (1m19.162s) set the pace after doing another push lap towards the end as he toppled Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by 0.053s with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc ending up in third.
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez needed another lap too after DRS didn’t work the first time as he ended up seventh on the same set of tyres. It was hectic in the bottom where Haas’ Mick Schumacher made it in the Top 10 with a sixth best time.
But it wasn’t for long as he used the kerbs a bit too much at Turn 2 which resulted in lap deletion. He had to another lap of 1m20.419s in 16th which was same for Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel in 17th. The other Haas of Kevin Magnussen made it in.
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was 18th with a 1m20.520s as Williams pair of Alexander Albon (1m20.859s) and Nicholas Latifi (1m21.167s) ended up 19th and 20th where replays showed an off moment for the Thai racer on his quick lap.
Q2:
The second part in F1 Mexico GP qualifying saw the Red Bull pair complete their first run on the used tyre as the Mercedes pair set the pace early on. Everyone did another lap where the Top 5 were separated by just the 0.063s margin.
In fact, the Top 2 were separated by just the 0.008s margin as Hamilton led the way with a 1m18.522s lap with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in second and the other Mercedes of Russell in third from Verstappen and Perez in a close Top 5 where Charles Leclerc aborted his lap.
It was a close miss for McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo (1m19.325s) in 11th after missing on the Top 10 by just the 0.053s margin. Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu (1m19.476s) was 12th from AlphaTauri pair of Yuki Tsunoda (1m19.589s) and Pierre Gasly (1m19.672s) as Haas’ Kevin Magnussen (1m19.833s) was 15th.
Q3:
The final part of F1 Mexico GP saw a tight run at the front where Red Bull’s Verstappen led the way from the Mercedes pair of Russell and Hamilton. But the latter lost his lap time after taking the apex at Turn 3 much like Schumacher did in Turn 2.
Red Bull’s Perez got third from Ferrari’s Sainz, who had a drift moment on the kerb. Teammate Leclerc had a moment in the early part of the lap too, to be only sixth, with Alpine’s Fernando Alons going out of turn in seventh with a moment of his own.
The final run saw Verstappen improve further with a 1m17.775s lap to secure F1 Mexico GP pole with a good margin over the Mercedes pair of Russell (1m18.079s) and Hamilton (1m18.084s). The former’s final lap was deleted due to an off at Turn 12 which left his angry.
Hamilton recovered well from lap deletion as Perez (1m18.128s) was fourth from Sainz (1m18.351s) with Bottas (1m18.401s) managing to beat Leclerc (1m18.555s) for sixth after the Monegasque did not have a good run. McLaren’s Lando Norris (1m18.721s) was eighth from Alpine pair of Fernando Alonso (1m18.939s) and Esteban Ocon (1m19.010s) in the Top 10.
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Mexico GP: Russell heads Hamilton in a Mercedes 1-2 in FP3
Mercedes pair led the way in FP1 of F1 Mexico GP with George Russell fastest from Lewis Hamilton as Max Verstappen was third.
The important FP3 session in F1 Mexico GP saw Mercedes pair lead the way as George Russell set the pace with a 1m18.399s lap from teammate Lewis Hamilton (1m18.543s) and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (1m18.876s) after soft tyre run.
It was a cleaner run from the Mercedes pair but Verstappen continued to have moments much like how he had during Friday running. A late push run from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc (1m19.123s) saw him in fourth but a bit far off the pace.
His teammate Carlos Sainz (1m19.301s) was sixth behind Red Bull’s Sergio Perez (1m19.241s), with McLaren’s Lando Norris (1m19.317s) seventh from Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas (1m19.390s) who continued have a good Mexico GP practice run with three Top 10 finishes.
AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda (1m19.882s) was ninth from Williams’ Alexander Albon (1m19.917s), who set a solid time in the end to be in the Top 10. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon was 11th after his late lap with Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu 12th after having issues early on.
Alpine’s Fernando Alonso was only 13th from McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo, with AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly after a scrappy run. His initial quick lap was compromised by a moment while trying to pass Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and only managed 15th in the end.
Stroll was 17th from Haas’ Mick Schumacher who had multiple offs including a spin at Turn 10. Williams’ Nicholas Latifi slotted in 18th from Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel who did not enjoy the session while complaining about the car lacking everywhere. He was followed by Haas’ Kevin Magnussen in 20th.
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Mexico GP: Russell quickest in FP2 as Pirelli continues tyre testing
George Russell led the way in FP1 of F1 Mexico GP from Yuki Tsunoda and Esteban Ocon as teams had another Pirelli tyre testing.
The extended FP2 session in F1 Mexico GP saw further Pirelli tyre testing for the 2023 season as they focused on running the softer compounds this weekend after running the harder ones at the Circuit of the Americas during the US GP weekend.
It was a mixed run again as like last weekend, the Top 3 finishers set their pace on the soft tyres of 2022 with Mercedes’ George Russell (1m19.970s) leading AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda (1m20.798s) and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon (1m21.177s) – all three having their first run of the day.
They sat out in FP1 after Nyck de Vries, Liam Lawson and Jack Doohan drove in the first test. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton (1m21.509s) was the first driver on the prototype tyres in fourth with the Red Bull pair behind them and Ferrari pair after them.
It was Sergio Perez (1m21.579s) again quicker than Max Verstappen (1m21.588s), where the Dutchman continued to have some moments. Charles Leclerc (1m21.618s) was seventh from Carlos Sainz (1m21.693s) but the Monegasque had an early end to his session.
Having lost his rear at the entry of Turn 8, Leclerc spun onto the barrier and damaged his rear resulting in a red flag. Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas (1m21.993s) was ninth from AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly (1m22.104s) in the Top 10, with his drift moment.
Alpine’s Fernando Alonso was 11th after his drift moment, with Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel in 12th from Williams’ Alexander Albon who set his pace on the soft tyres. The McLaren pair rounded the Top 15 with Lando Norris leading.
He had a moment towards the end as Daniel Ricciardo was 15th from Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll who led the Haas pair of Mick Schumacher and Kevin Magnussen. The Dane had a new ICE fitted – his sixth – and is due for a grid penalty.
Williams’ Nicholas Latifi was 19th from Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu, who caused a late red flag due to a hydraulic issue with the session not resuming again where less than two minutes was remaining.
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Mexico GP: Sainz fastest in FP1 from Leclerc amid stoppages
Ferrari pair of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc headed FP1 in F1 Mexico GP with Sergio Perez third amid double red flag stoppages.
It was a clean but a bit up and down FP1 session in F1 Mexico GP which was led by the Ferrari pair of Carlos Sainz (1m20.707s) and Charles Leclerc (1m20.753s) – only 0.046s separating the two. The Monegasque had an early puncture which required a change.
The two had the Red Bull pair just behind them with Sergio Perez (1m20.827s) ahead of Max Verstappen (1m20.827s), where the Dutchman had a less grippy day. He not only went off to have a half spin, he also had a separate moment where he caught it.
The duo set exactly the same time. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton (1m20.849s) was fifth whose earlier quick lap was affected by red flag. Alpine’s Fernando Alonso (1m20.899s) was sixth from Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas (1m21.083s) as McLaren’s Lando Norris (1m21.120s) ended up seventh.
AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly (1m21.310s) lined-up ninth where the Frenchman had a moment against Williams’ Nicholas Latifi which he didn’t fancy, as the Top 10 was rounded out by Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel (1m21.525s) – sporting a Red Bull helmet.
A brake issue kept McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo in the garage for long but he finally headed out to end up 11th which also had a moment when Hamilton almost came in his way. Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu was 12th where he got stuck at the pit exit.
He couldn’t get going then and so switched off the car where he had to be wheeled in before he could get going. Haas’ Mick Schumacher was 13th from Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Latifi, who were the last of the weekend runners.
Among the FP1 runners, AlphaTauri’s Liam Lawson led the way in 16th where the Kiwi not only had a lock-up at Turn 1 but brake fire forced him to stop early to not only cause a red flag but also end the session with about three minutes to go.
The front left was smoking hugely and eventually caught fire as he led Williams’ Logan Sargeant, Mercedes’ Nyck de Vries, Alpine’s Jack Doohan and Haas’ Pietro Fittipaldi – where they replaced Yuki Tsunoda, Alexander Albon, George Russell, Esteban Ocon and Kevin Magnussen respectively.
This was the last session for de Vries with Mercedes as he will now get no more track running since he is switching to AlphaTauri. Doohan, meanwhile stopped early due to engine issues, while Fittipaldi caused the first red flag due ti MGU-K problem.
