Cloudy. Dry. Air +22…24С, highway +31…40С
The only Friday practice is one of the most important sessions during the sprint weekend. Within an hour it was necessary to determine the settings, evaluate the life of the tires and prepare for today’s qualifying.
The riders started training with hard compounds, with some teams splitting the program – one rider working on the settings, the other on the tires.
Tsunoda went off the track at the first corner, Russell at the third. Hulkenberg and Leclerc almost collided when Nico aborted his attempt and moved towards Charles.
In the 31st minute, Verstappen’s car stopped on track due to a fault in one of the sensors of the power plant. He released the brakes, the RB20 rolled backwards, after which the marshals picked him up and drove him into the pit lane. The session was stopped with red flags, but the mechanics quickly fixed it and a few minutes later Max was back on track.
A dangerous moment occurred between Tsunoda and Elbon. Yuki drove a fast lap and Alex got ready to start – just before Tsunoda he drove to the line, but when he saw another car in the mirrors he immediately turned around.
Gasly went off the track at turn three, Norris at turn four, without serious consequences for either car.
Max Verstappen topped the protocol and lapped in 1:05.685.
Results of the first session
| Pilot | Team | Time | Difference | Circles |
| 1. M. Verstappen | Red Bull | 1’05,685 | – | 28 |
| 2. O. Piastri | McLaren | 1’05.961 | 0.276 | 32 |
| 3. S. Leclerc | Ferrari | 1’06.055 | 0.370 | 31 |
| 4. K. Sainz | Ferrari | 1’06.128 | 0.443 | 31 |
| 5. L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’06,254 | 0.569 | 39 |
| 6. E.Okon | Alps | 1’06,297 | 0.612 | thirty |
| 7. L. Walk | Aston Martin | 1’06.384 | 0.699 | 27 |
| 8. D.Russell | Mercedes | 1’06.386 | 0.701 | 32 |
| 9. Yu.Tsunoda | RB | 1’06.579 | 0.894 | thirty |
| 10. F. Alonso | Aston Martin | 1’06,603 | 0.918 | thirty |
| 11. P. Gasly | Alps | 1’06.734 | 1,049 | 28 |
| 12. S.Perez | Red Bull | 1’06.783 | 1,098 | 24 |
| 13. L. Norris | McLaren | 1’06,880 | 1,195 | thirty |
| 14. G.Zhou | Sauber | 1’06.919 | 1,234 | 28 |
| 15. V. Bottas | Sauber | 1’06.925 | 1,240 | 29 |
| 16. D. Ricciardo | RB | 1’06,962 | 1,277 | 31 |
| 17. N. Hulkenberg | Hare | 1’06,966 | 1,281 | thirty |
| 18. A. Elbon | Williams | 1’06.995 | 1,310 | 28 |
| 19. K.Magnussen | Hare | 1’07.145 | 1,460 | 31 |
| 20. L. Sargent | Williams | 1’07.259 | 1,574 | 29 |
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
