This Friday, August 26, Formula 1 returned to action after a three-week summer break. Free practice 1 of the 2022 Belgian Grand Prix kicked off the second and final part of a season that still has a lot to say.
Despite the threat of rain, both the teams and the drivers were able to enjoy a totally dry asphalt from the first minute of the session until almost the end of it, which made it possible to test some improvements, such as those that Charles Leclerc will mount and Max Verstappen and that they will be sent to the back of the grid this Sunday after changing their power units, that of Ferrari with an increase in performance included.
At the end of the 60 minutes of FP1 at Spa-Francorchamps , Carlos Sainz led the top category time table after the summer break with a time of 1:46.538 , ahead of Leclerc and Verstappen , who completed the first three positions.
Behind, George Russell at the wheel of his Mercedes was the fourth fastest driver, although he was 0.858 seconds off the best time of the Spanish Ferrari driver, with Lance Stroll placed very close to him in sixth position.
Alexander Albon surprised everyone by finishing seventh in his Williams, while Daniel Ricciardo was seventh and Yuki Tsunoda eighth, a reflection that the time table at the end of Free Practice 1 did not show the real performance of the cars, partly due to the rain that fell on the track with five minutes to go to see the checkered flag.
Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Pérez closed the top ten positions of an FP1 that was interrupted towards the end of the session by a red flag caused by Kevin Magnussen, when his Haas stopped after the first corner due to an electrical problem in his unit of power
FP1 Results, Free Practice 1 of the F1 Belgian GP 2022 at Spa
Click on “VIEW RESULTS” to see the full time table
| Cla | Pilot | laps | Weather | Difference | Interval | Km/h | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Carlos Sainz Jr. |
 |
16 | 1,46,538 | 236,670 | ||
| 2 |  Charles Leclerc |
 |
16 | 1’46.607 | 0.069 | 0.069 | 236.517 |
| 3 |  Max Verstappen |
 |
10 | 1’46.755 | 0.217 | 0.148 | 236.189 |
| 4 |  George Russell |
 |
13 | 1’47.396 | 0.858 | 0.641 | 234.779 |
| 5 |  Lance Stroll |
 |
13 | 1’47.437 | 0.899 | 0.041 | 234.690 |
| 6 |  Alexander Albon |
 |
15 | 1’47.835 | 1.297 | 0.398 | 233.823 |
| 7 |  Daniel Ricciardo |
 |
14 | 1’48.081 | 1.543 | 0.246 | 233.291 |
| 8 |  Yuki Tsunoda |
 |
17 | 1’48.310 | 1.772 | 0.229 | 232.798 |
| 9 | Lewis Hamilton |
 |
10 | 1’48.420 | 1.882 | 0.110 | 232.562 |
| 10 |  Sergio Perez |
|
13 | 1,48,474 | 1936 | 0.054 | 232,446 |
| see results | |||||||
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo By: Andy Hone/Motorsport Images
Foto de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
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Foto de: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Foto de: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Foto de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Photo de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Photo de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Photo By: Andy Hone/Motorsport Images
Photo de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Summary of Free Practice 1 of the Belgian GP 2022 F1 in Spa
Despite the threat of rain, the single-seaters of the highest category of motorsport returned to the asphalt after the summer holidays on a wet but rain-free Spa-Francorchamps track.
Once the clock began to drop seconds, practically all the drivers went out on the track and did so with the intermediate compound, although it quickly became clear that the circuit was for dry tires and they all returned to their garage.
Already with the smooth tires, the first driver to register a lap time in the time table was Sainz, who at the wheel of his Ferrari placed first with a 1:51.622, still far from the expected times.
Lando Norris was the first to lower the 1:50 barrier on soft tires by registering a 1:49.712 that placed him ahead of his teammate, a Daniel Ricciardo who is facing his last races with McLaren after confirming his departure from the team at the end of this campaign.
The one who took a short time to place his name at the top of the time table was a certain Max Verstappen, who in his second lap with the red rubber marked a 1:47.456 that placed him two seconds ahead of the British McLaren driver a After completing the first 15 minutes of FP1 at the Belgian GP.
In the middle of Free Practice 1, the penalty was confirmed for the Dutch Red Bull driver due to an engine change, which will make him start from the back of the grid along with his greatest rival right now, Charles Leclerc, who will penalize for the same reason.
Meanwhile, Valtteri Bottas seemed to be having some trouble in his Alfa Romeo as unlike the other drivers he was staying inside his garage with two laps completed after more than 20 minutes of session.
After completing the first half hour of FP1, Albon surprised everyone by placing his Williams in second position, just behind Verstappen, with some new softs, while the rest of the drivers were in their garages preparing the second half of Free Practice 1 .
In the Alpine box, the French team’s mechanics were forcefully working on Esteban Ocon’s car, dismantling part of the car after detecting a problem. Alonso, meanwhile, was riding normally in 10th place, behind the two McLarens and in front of the Aston Martin, his future from 2023.
Sainz was the first to steal the lead from Verstappen on new soft tyres, posting a 1m46.538s that was 0.217s quicker than the Red Bull Dutchman’s previous time.
Leclerc was unable to overtake his Ferrari teammate and moved into second less than a tenth behind Sainz (0.069s). A few seconds later Keving Magnussen’s Haas stalled after the first corner and caused the first red flag of the weekend at Spa-Francorchamps.
After a few long minutes, due to the fact that the Dane’s car was dangerous as the electrical part of its power unit had not been discharged, the stewards of the Ardennes track managed to clean the track and the green flag waved again in FP1 with 10 minutes still ahead on the stopwatch.
With such little time to spare, the vast majority of drivers quickly hit the tarmac on new soft tyres, although some chose the medium ones, to do a kind of qualifying simulation before focusing on the long runs in Free Practice 2 this afternoon.
Within five minutes, the threat of rain became a reality and that prevented seeing any improvement in the time table, which left Carlos Sainz and Ferrari as the first leaders after the summer break, with Leclerc second and Verstappen third.
