Ferrari FP1 report: Charles Leclerc P1, Carlos Sainz P2

Ferrari FP1 report: Charles Leclerc P1, Carlos Sainz P2 | 2022 F1 Spanish GP. Ferrari FP1 report.

The Spanish Grand Prix has not always had the greatest reputations in terms of atmosphere but the grandstands were packed at the Circuit de Catalunya today and it was only Friday! A capacity 110,000 crowd is expected each day, proving Formula 1’s appeal right now. And of course, there were loud cheers from the Spanish crowd as Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz took to the track for the first free practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya!

In terms of the track, this is of course one that the drivers are very familiar with given their pre-season testing experience. With a great mix of corners, this will be a true aerodynamic test for the drivers and your car will stand out, good or bad.

It had been championship rivals Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen setting the pace after the first 30 minutes of FP1 at the Circuit de Catalunya, but Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz then went fastest with a 1:19.907 on the soft tyre. That gave the Spanish fans something to cheer about! Soon Charles also improved to a 1.19.828 to take P1, while on the softs Max Verstappen’s sector 3 was quite badly compromised by traffic which means that his lap time was not representative.

With 15 minutes to go from the opening practice session and it was Charles who was still on top with his teammate Carlos Sainz just behind him. The Mercedes team will be encouraged by their performance so far as they sit in fourth and sixth, split by Fernando Alonso. And no one was able to get ahead of Charles Leclerc’s 1:19.828 at the top of the timesheet as we headed into the final moments of this first practice session. Some of the drivers came back out to try for a couple more flying laps, but there were no late changes.

A positive first practice session therefore for the Maranello team, in terms of lap times, but most importantly to gather data and evaluate the updates which the Italian side has introduced for this sixth round of the 2022 Formula 1 season.