F1 Spanish Grand Prix: Charles Leclerc tops final practice
21st May 2022Charles Leclerc topped the final practice session, of the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix, while Mercedes look to be able to finally compete back at the front.
How final practice unfolded…
As the pit exit light went green, McLaren’s Lando Norris was the first driver to venture out onto the track ahead of his teammate, Daniel Ricciardo. On their out laps, Ricciardo overtook Norris into turn five. However, the Australian popped back into the pit lane which allowed Norris to be the first driver to set a lap time, a 1:23.641.
This time was soon beaten by Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas who obtained a 1:21.326 lap time, 2.315 seconds faster than Norris. But, the Finn was on the red-ringed soft compound tyre while McLaren’s Norris set his quickest time on the medium, yellow-ringed, compounds.
When the session reached its 10-minute mark, only five drivers completed their lap times. Bottas remained out on top ahead of Kevin Magnussen (Haas), Norris, Mick Schumacher (Haas) and Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri). However, prior to this stage of the session, Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly was forced to quickly jump out of his car as smoke poured out of its rear when he returned to the pit lane.
Schumacher was soon forced to retire to the pits due to problems with his right-rear brakes. The issue started as the German driver whipped his car around turn nine but as he returned to the pit lane, and his designated pit box, the brake burst into flames. The fire continued to erupt for a significant amount of time before it was fully extinguished.
When the session reached its half-way mark, Leclerc continued his good form as he occupied the top spot with a quick 1:20.278, 0.197 seconds quicker than Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (P2). This time was soon beaten by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, seven minutes later, before Leclerc re-established his position at the top.
With just over five minutes left on the clock, before qualifying, Leclerc remained out on top, ahead of Verstappen and Russell. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, Sainz and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez occupied P4, P5 and P6 respectively.
Top three:
- Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull
- George Russell, Mercedes
That’s it for the article: ! Who do you think will secure pole position in qualifying, later on today? Let us know in the comments!
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
