Belgian GP: Carlos Sainz leads Ferrari 1-2 as F1 returns to action at Spa
Sainz was just 0.069s faster than Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, while championship 🎃leader Max Verstappen ended up third-quickest, 0.217s down in his Red Bull.
Verstappen holds an 80-point lead over title rival Leclerc but the pair are among six𒁏 dri𒆙vers who will take engine-related grid penalties for Sunday’s grand prix.
McLaren’s Lando Norris, Alfa Romeo’s Valt⛦teri Bottas, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Haas driver Mick Schumacher will also be hit with penalt🎃ies for exceeding their power unit allocations.
FP1 was interrupte༺d by a ✅lengthy red flag when Kevin Magnussen suffered an electrical problem, causing his Haas to grind to a halt at the exit of La Source with just over 20 minutes remaining.
The session resumed with ♛10 minutes left on the clock but nobody was able to improve when a late do𒆙wnpour of rain left the circuit soaked.
George Russell was the fastest Mercedes driver in fourth, 0.858s off the pace, ahead of Aston Martin’s Lance Strol꧂l and Alex Alb🔯on, who put his Williams sixth.
Daniel Ricciardo, whose impending split from🤡 McLaren was confirmed on Thursday, was seventh-quickest, with Yuki Tsunoda, Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez completing the rest of the top-10 order for AlphaTauri, Mercedes and Red Bull respectively.
A s﷽econd hour of practice will take place at 5pm local time (4pm UK).
Full results from opening practice at the🌞 Belgian Grand Prix.
Lewis regularly attends Grands Prix for mahbx.com around the world. Often reporting on the action from the ground, Lewis tells the stories of the people ♕who matter in the sport.
