For the second time so far in the 2022 Formula 1 season, the teams faced a weekend with a sprint format, something that causes many changes in the way of working, especially in these Free 1, since they are the only training sessions before classification.
Despite the threat of rain, the sun shone in the sky of the Red Bull Ring circuit from the first minute of FP1, which allowed the single-seaters to take to the track as soon as the traffic lights began to count down seconds, with the news that Valtteri Bottas received a sanction after changing some elements of his power unit.
After the first and only 60 minutes of practice before disputing the classification of the Austrian Grand Prix and despite the two red flags that limited the time of action on the track, Max Verstappen set the best time of the morning with a 1:06.302 , ahead of Charles Leclerc.
Behind the two big favorites, the Mercedes once again showed that their improvement is real, with George Russell third and Lewis Hamilton fifth, separated by Sergio Pérez’s Red Bull.
Kevin Magnussen finished sixth, ahead of the other Ferrari, that of the Spanish driver Carlos Sainz, with Fernando Alonso eighth, being the only one in the top 10 to place himself there with the medium tire, unlike the rest of the drivers who did use the soft. Mick Schumacher and Yuki Tsunoda completed the top ten positions.
The negative note of FP1 was taken by Lando Norris, since a fault in the power unit of his car forced him to park his car in the middle of the track before reaching the halfway point of the session and he was unable to return to the track in one of the most important workouts of the course.
FP1 Results, Free Practice 1 of the Austrian GP 2022 F1
Click on “VIEW RESULTS” to see the full time table
| Cla | Pilot | laps | Weather | Difference | Interval | Km/h | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Max Verstappen |
 |
34 | 1’06.302 | 234.454 | ||
| 2 |  Charles Leclerc |
 |
32 | 1’06.557 | 0.255 | 0.255 | 233.556 |
| 3 |  George Russell |
 |
32 | 1’06.702 | 0.400 | 0.145 | 233.048 |
| 4 |  Sergio Perez |
 |
27 | 1,06,839 | 0.537 | 0.137 | 232,570 |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton |
 |
31 | 1’06.909 | 0.607 | 0.070 | 232.327 |
| 6 |  Kevin Magnussen |
 |
32 | 1’06.965 | 0.663 | 0.056 | 232.133 |
| 7 |  Carlos Sainz Jr. |
 |
29 | 1’07,039 | 0.737 | 0.074 | 231,876 |
| 8 | Fernando Alonso |
 |
32 | 1’07.100 | 0.798 | 0.061 | 231.666 |
| 9 |  Mick Schumacher |
 |
32 | 1’07.246 | 0.944 | 0.146 | 231.163 |
| Ten |  Yuki Tsunoda |
 |
33 33 | 1’07.296 | 0.994 | 0.050 | 230.991 |
| see results | |||||||
Summary of Free Practice 1 of the 2022 F1 Austrian GP at the Red Bull Ring
As expected due to the importance of these Free Practices 1 , since it is the only practice session prior to this weekend’s classification with a sprint format, all the single-seaters took to the track as soon as they saw the green light.
In the first stages of FP1, absolutely everyone opted for the medium compound, with Max Verstappen who was the first to break the 1:08 barrier, with a time of 1:07.720 , which placed him almost half a second ahead of Alonzo.
While all the teams were running with apparent normality, the two Aston Martins were waiting inside their garages, with the mechanics working on the cars of Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll.
Sergio Pérez , at the wheel of his Red Bull RB18, was the first to get a little scare when he slightly lost control of his car and made an excursion through the gravel.
After completing the first 15 minutes, the Aston Martins joined the rest of the teams on the track and, in terms of the time table, no one else was able to lower the 1:08 barrier, only a Verstappen who improved even more time until the 1:07.496 .
Before reaching the halfway point of FP1, Lando Norris was forced to stop his McLaren in the middle of the track due to a problem in the power unit of his MCL36 and caused a red flag that would stop the session for almost five minutes.
With just over half an hour left on the clock, the single-seaters returned to the asphalt to try to complete extensive testing programs that had been shaken quite a bit by this incident involving the young Briton from Woking.
After the break, some drivers continued to work with the medium tyre, while others, such as Verstappen, Leclerc or Sainz, opted to use the soft for the first time.
With these tires, the Dutch driver smashed his own record and lowered the bar to 1:06.302 , while Leclerc was 0.348 seconds behind and Sainz , third, eight tenths.
In the middle zone, some drivers like Fernando Alonso or Alex Albon exceeded 30 laps with medium tires, suggesting that for tomorrow’s sprint race, it could be the tire chosen by almost the entire grid.
With 20 minutes remaining in FP1, a new red flag appeared on the track, but this time not because of any car accident, but because of a problem with the track itself that required the appearance of the track marshals.
George Russell and Lewis Hamilton , at the wheel of their Mercedes W13s and also on the softer compound, were sitting between the two Ferraris, third and fourth respectively. Meanwhile, Checo could not get past seventh place, almost a second behind his teammate, behind a Fernando Alonso who was still on the track with the mediums and who would finish without testing the softs.
With a second to go in Free Practice 1, the Mexican Red Bull driver returned to the attack with the softs and climbed to fourth position, dividing the Mercedes drivers and remaining 0.537 seconds behind his teammate’s time, although with a fairly important track difference in favor of Guadalajara.
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Foto de: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
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Foto de: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
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Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
