While more than half of Spain slept, a part got up to work and a few bragged about their madness for Formula 1, this morning the first free practice sessions of the 2022 Australian GP were held. An appointment that historically opened the season but that this year it is the third of the course, and whose FP1 was led by Carlos Sainz completing a one-two for Ferrari ahead of Leclerc .
The Monegasque failed in his final attempt, which ended up leaving more than half a second between Carlos and him. Those of the Cavallino were the fastest, ahead of a Checo Pérez who made his best time in the last minutes and ended up beating a Verstappen who still seems to have a significant margin in his Red Bull. The Mexican, however, finished almost six tenths behind Sainz.
Lando Norris led the battle through the middle section, first of the rest, a tenth ahead of Ocon , the fastest of the Alpines. Behind them was Hamilton , in a surprising Mercedes with hardly any updates after the first two races.
It was a session with many tire locks, a slight excursion through the gravel and two red flags : one for a piece of Sergio Pérez’s Red Bull that remained on the asphalt and another for a breakdown in the Mercedes engine of Vettel ‘s Aston Martin , who had a bitter comeback after being discharged due to coronavirus and who left a curious image at the end of FP1, returning to the box riding a scooter and greeting the public.
Fernando Alonso insisted on testing the hard tyres, although he switched to soft tires in the final minutes to finish in ninth position. The Asturian spun in the second half of the morning session and finished behind Daniel Ricciardo (8th) and ahead of Valtteri Bottas, who closed the top 10.
Changes to the Albert Park circuit have left the track faster and more challenging for the drivers, leading to an exciting race on Sunday.
Formula 1 Australian GP 2022 Free Practice 1 results, positions and times
(Click on ‘see results’ to enjoy the entire table)
| Cla | Pilot | laps | Weather | Difference | Interval | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Carlos Sainz Jr. |
 |
24 | 1’19,806 | ||
| 2 |  Charles Leclerc |
 |
21 | 1’20.377 | 0.571 | 0.571 |
| 3 |  Sergio Perez |
 |
twenty | 1’20,399 | 0.593 | 0.022 |
| 4 |  Max Verstappen |
 |
22 | 1’20.626 | 0.820 | 0.227 |
| 5 |  Lando Norris |
 |
22 | 1’20.878 | 1.072 | 0.252 |
| 6 |  Esteban Ocon |
 |
27 | 1’21.004 | 1.198 | 0.126 |
| 7 | Lewis Hamilton |
 |
26 | 1’21.027 | 1.221 | 0.023 |
| 8 |  Daniel Ricciardo |
 |
23 | 1’21.155 | 1.349 | 0.128 |
| 9 | Fernando Alonso |
 |
21 | 1’21.229 | 1.423 | 0.074 |
| 10 |  Valtteri Bottas |
 |
23 | 1’21.247 | 1.441 | 0.018 |
| see results | ||||||
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar/Motorsport Images
Foto de: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Foto de: FIA Pool
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Summary of Free Practice 1 of the Australian GP 2022 Formula 1
With a large aerodynamic grid on his car, Checo Pérez was the first to go out on the track, just ahead of a Bottas who quickly passed him. Little by little, cars were coming out onto the asphalt, except for the Ferrari of a Sainz who had to watch his Ferrari mechanics work on a new front wing that seemed to be causing problems.
Several drivers alternated in the lead in the first ten minutes, until Verstappen posted a 1m21.625s on softs to take the lead. Pierre Gasly suffered the first scare at the fast new Albert Park, and Alonso started his first timed lap on hard. Except for Verstappen (soft), Leclerc and the Mercedes (also on hard), all tried medium in the early stages.
Sainz finally came out and set a time that put him in the top 10, when we began to see, including the man from Madrid, several drivers setting important tire locks. The man from Madrid seemed to hinder an upset Zhou and the stewards noted the incident. The first 25 minutes had not yet been completed when a piece that came off the rear of Checo Pérez’s Red Bull and stayed on the main straight forced a brief red flag period.
Soon the engines were roaring again, and it was time to see Hamilton on soft tyres, which allowed him to take fifth. Sainz had risen to second on hard, before Verstappen lowered his own record ever so slightly to bolster his first place on soft.
Kevin Magnussen set up a block that sent him into the gravel at Turn 3, although he was able to continue without any major problems. With 24 minutes to go, Charles Leclerc, on softs, stopped the clock at 1:20.825 to beat Verstappen by just 0.032, while Ricciardo moved up to sixth place.
Leclerc improved his lap even more but Sainz, on soft tyres, took the lead beating his teammate by 52 thousandths, leaving Verstappen by three tenths. An instant before Sainz completed his lap, Alonso spun without consequence, even on his hard tyres.
Leclerc also had a scare in the first part of the track, although he was able to avoid the spin, and that conditioned him on his next lap. Sainz did lower his record, putting half a second difference between the two Ferraris, and leaving eight tenths to Verstappen. There were still 15 minutes left in the session when Vettel, who was returning after missing the first two races due to COVID19 , suffered an engine problem in his Aston Marti and had to stop the car on the track, forcing the red flag to wave for the second time.
There were still 10 minutes left in the session when activity resumed on the Australian circuit. Sainz appeared on the track with hard tires and presumably a significant fuel load in his car, while we finally saw Alonso, the only driver who had not run on soft, ride the fastest Pirelli.
With soft, Pérez climbed to the third step, although more than half a second behind the Ferraris, and Alonso placed 14th. Sainz brushed against the wall at the exit of turn 2, but Leclerc was more frightened, stepping on the gravel at turn 12 and nearly losing control. Alonso climbed to ninth position and that’s where the checkered flag that put an end to FP1 fell.
The next, in two hours.
