Formula 1 returned to the Circuit of the Americas for the dispute of the first free practice session of the United States Grand Prix, a historic moment for Spanish motorsports because three drivers were on the track at the same time for the debut of Alex Palou with the McLaren team.
As if it were a moment of brilliance for the country, Carlos Sainz led the start of the weekend with his Ferrari in Austin, with a fairly wide gap over Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes, who were enjoying the latest update of the 2022 season in his W13, as those from Brackley recognized the FIA. The surprise came thanks to Lance Stroll, who with his Aston Martin moved up to fourth position to leave Sergio Pérez’s Red Bull, who will have a penalty on the starting grid on Sunday, in fifth place.
For his part, Fernando Alonso managed to finish sixth, just over eight tenths behind his compatriot, enough to beat the other of Brackley’s cars, George Russell’s, which did not get past seventh place. Behind them, closing the top ten positions, finished Pierre Gasly, Lando Norris and Sebastian Vettel, who was already over a second apart from the best time of Ferrari.
The other of the Spaniards, Alex Palou, in his debut with McLaren managed to give a good feeling, in addition to completing 21 laps to be the second of the rookies, in 17th position, just behind Robert Schwartzman.
Results of the Free Practice 1 (FP1) of the US GP 2022 of F1
| Cla | Pilot | laps | Weather | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
 |
19 | 1,36,857 | |
| 2 |  |
 |
15 | 1’37.081 | 0.224 |
| 3 |  |
 |
20 | 1’37.332 | 0.475 |
| 4 |  |
 |
23 | 1’37.460 | 0.603 |
| 5 |  |
 |
19 | 1,37,515 | 0.658 |
| 6 | |
 |
25 | 1’37.713 | 0.856 |
| 7 | |
 |
23 | 1’37.802 | 0.945 |
| 8 |  |
 |
24 | 1’37,810 | 0.953 |
| 9 | |
 |
23 | 1’37.856 | 0.999 |
| 10 |  |
 |
25 | 1’38.041 | 1.184 |
| see results | |||||
Photo de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Sam Bloxham/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
Photo de: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
Summary of the first practices (Free 1) of the United States GP 2022 of F1
After a week of rest for the fastest single-seaters in the world, the activity returned with the first free practice of the United States Grand Prix , where up to five drivers who were not starters in their teams went out to the track to fulfill the obligations of the FIA to put rookies behind the wheel of their cars in two FP1 sessions throughout the season, although in the case of Antonio Giovinazzi with Haas it was part of an agreement with the Italian driver.
Thus, Spanish sport was celebrating, since Alex Palou joined Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz, although only in FP1 as a substitute for Daniel Ricciardo. The Catalan did not take long to get going, and in the first few minutes he was already rolling, like most of those who made their debut in Formula 1, such as Logan Sargeant with Williams or Robert Schwartzman with Ferrari.
The other who made his debut was Théo Pourchaire with Alfa Romeo, who did not want to do what Giovinazzi starred in before completing the first 10 minutes of the session, since the Haas man lost control of his car in the first sector and went straight into the wall, causing a red flag to start the weekend.
Despite the fact that the stewards had to go out to fix the barriers that the former Alfa Romeo driver destroyed, the session resumed without problems a few moments later, and the new world champion could already be seen on the asphalt, Max Verstappen, who did not nothing is at stake except the constructors’ world title with Red Bull.
The Milton Keynes single-seaters came out on the soft rubber, and that was noticeable in the temporary first position of Sergio Pérez, followed by Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz, although Fernando Alonso wanted some prominence when he beat the Mexican’s time with the medium rubber. That place did not last long for the man from Oviedo, since his teammate, Esteban Ocon, made a time seven tenths better, waiting for what the other energy drink car did.
And so it was, as Verstappen set a time of 1:38.272 to take the lead, where he stayed for a few minutes in a fairly quiet session, because the teams did not want to risk being damaged at the start of a weekend. week with so many debutantes.
The rest of the first free practices had several drivers who rotated to the top of the table, with names as diverse as Stroll or Sainz, who took command with just over a quarter of an hour left to see the flag. checkered During the practice dispute, the FIA communicated through an official document that Sergio Pérez would receive a five-position penalty due to a change in the internal combustion engine , the same as Guanyu Zhou, who was in the middle table with Alfa Romeo.
In addition to that, some teams were working on the set-up, but there were no surprises with the rookies, who were at the bottom of the standings, with Palou being the best, followed by Schwartzman, Pourchaire and Sargeant, with Giovinazzi, who despite if it wasn’t his first weekend at the Great Circus, his last.
At the top, with 10 minutes remaining , the Ferrari driver from Madrid led with a 1:36.875 , with Lewis Hamilton in his wake, but four tenths ahead, while Lance Stroll surprised with his Aston Martin by placing third . As for the Red Bulls, they were fourth and fifth, with the Dutchman ahead of the Mexican, and Fernando Alonso ahead of George Russell, all on the softest tires in the Pirelli range.
However, before seeing the end of the session, Max Verstappen climbed up to second place, leaving Hamilton third and Stroll fourth, while Pérez was fifth and Alonso sixth. Among the rookies, Schwartzman was the fastest, ahead of Palou and his McLaren.
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