Belgian Grand Prix – Free Practice 1: Sainz ahead of Leclerc and Verstappen
The first free practice session took place in Belgium at 2PM. The session was marked by the appearance of rain and Magnussen's breakdown. It is the Ferraris that are ahead of Verstappen at the end of this first session.
The weather conditions did not allow for high temperature asphalt. The drivers initially started with intermediate tires. Eventually, the entire grid quickly switched to slick tires to complete fast laps.
Liam Lawson had his Formula 1 debut. The driver replaced Pierre Gasly in the AlphaTauri for this first free practice session.
The entire group of drivers had to familiarize themselves with the new features of the track. Specifically, the addition of the gravel trap in the hairpin of La Source, which will no longer allow drivers to intentionally go wide after the first turn.
During the session, Magnussen broke down in the red water 12 minutes before the end, causing a red flag and the session to be interrupted.
The first part of the session was dominated by Red Bull. Albon performed well and the Ferraris gained the upper hand during the last third of the session.
The two Ferraris set the two best times of the session, finishing within the same tenth. Carlos Sainz achieved the fastest lap with the softest tire available this weekend.
Valtteri Bottas is the only driver on the grid who did not set a time during this session. As a reminder, the Finnish driver changed some components of his engine for this Grand Prix.
It’s only the beginning of the weekend and the teams will try to gather as much data as possible to fine-tune the cars for the second part of the weekend. The second session should provide more indications.
The result of Free Practice 1 of the Belgian Formula 1 Grand Prix 2022 is:
| N° | Driver | Team | Times | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sainz | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:46.538 | 16 | |
| 2 | Leclerc | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:46.607 | +0.069 | 16 |
| 3 | Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | 1:46.755 | +0.217 | 10 |
| 4 | Russell | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport | 1:47.396 | +0.858 | 13 |
| 5 | Stroll | Cognizant Aston Martin Racing | 1:47.437 | +0.899 | 13 |
| 6 | Albon | Williams Racing | 1:47.835 | +1.297 | 15 |
| 7 | Ricciardo | McLaren F1 Team | 1:48.081 | +1.543 | 14 |
| 8 | Tsunoda | Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda | 1:48.310 | +1.772 | 17 |
| 9 | Hamilton | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport | 1:48.420 | +1.882 | 10 |
| 10 | Perez | Red Bull Racing | 1:48.474 | +1.936 | 13 |
| 11 | Latifi | Williams Racing | 1:48.485 | +1.947 | 13 |
| 12 | Zhou | Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN | 1:48.672 | +2.134 | 16 |
| 13 | Norris | McLaren F1 Team | 1:49.470 | +2.932 | 15 |
| 14 | Alonso | Alpine F1 Team | 1:49.664 | +3.126 | 17 |
| 15 | Vettel | Cognizant Aston Martin Racing | 1:49.813 | +3.275 | 12 |
| 16 | Ocon | Alpine F1 Team | 1:50.315 | +3.777 | 5 |
| 17 | Magnussen | Haas F1 Team | 1:50.982 | +4.444 | 9 |
| 18 | Schumacher | Haas F1 Team | 1:51.259 | +4.721 | 15 |
| 19 | Lawson | Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda | 1:52.259 | +5.721 | 14 |
| 20 | Bottas | Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN | Pas de temps | 2 |
