Belgium GP: Sainz heads Ferrari 1-2 in Spa
26th August 2022Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz headed the first practice session, ahead of his championship-contending teammate, Charles Leclerc, as the sport returns after the summer break.
How practice unfolded…
Practice got back underway, after a long – and interesting – three week break, in a drizzly Spa-Francorchamps. As a result, the bulk of drivers ventured out onto the Belgian circuit on the green-ringed intermediate tyres.
McLaren’s outgoing driver, Daniel Ricciardo, was one of the first drivers to venture out onto the treacherous circuit on the yellow-ringed medium compound tyres.
After the first 10 minutes, McLaren’s Lando Norris topped the timing board ahead of Ricciardo, in second. However, the young British driver was quickly demoted by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who went to the top of the timing board with a quick lap time of 1:46.755.
Carlin’s F2, and aspiring F1, driver Liam Lawson stood in for Pierre Gasly as the young New Zealander got to taste a F1 car as part of the sporting regulations this year. As the session reached its half way mark, the Kiwi stood P18 on the overall timing board.
After the halfway mark, Sainz jumped to the top of the timing board as he went quicker than Verstappen by 0.217 seconds. This was quickly followed by his teammate, Leclerc who was only six-hundreths of a second slower.
However, with just over 20 minutes left to go, Haas’ Kevin Magnussen had a mechanical issue which brought out the red flag. The issue seemed to lie withing the cars hybrid system as the light, on the top of the roll hoop, began to flash red.
Fortunately, the session was able to continue with under 10 minutes left on the clock. With a limited number of laps under their belts, the remaining drivers queued out of the pit lane ready for green light.
However, in the dying minutes of the session, many drivers returned to the pit lane as a heavy shower quickly descended on the south-eastern corner of the circuit which ended any meaningful runs.
Podium:
- Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
- Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull
That’s it for the article: Belgium GP: Sainz heads Ferrari 1-2 in Spa? Who do you think is an early contender for pole position? Let us know in the comments!
Read more Formula 1 here!
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- F1 Belgian Grand Prix: Preview
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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.
