F1 Brazil GP: Perez goes fastest as 0.008s separate top three
11th November 2022Red Bull’s Sergio Perez set the fastest time ahead of qualifying for the Sprint Race as only 0.008 seconds separate the top three drivers.
How first practice unfolded…
As the clock ticked down to the start of Free Practice 1, Haas’ Kevin Magnussen waited patiently for the pit exit light to go green. Once the session got underway, the Dane naturally became the first driver to head out on circuit ahead of Alfa Romeo’s Guanyu Zhou.
After the first set of runs, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen topped the timing board ahead of Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas and Perez who were P2 and P3 respectively.
However, by the 10-minute mark, Bottas had jumped ahead of Verstappen in the timing boards but his position at the top was shortlived as the Dutch world champion quickly put in the fastest lap.
As the session crept up to its half-an-hour mark, Red Bull’s Sergio Perez jumped to the top of the timing boards with a 1:11.853, 1.7 seconds quicker than his two-time world champion teammate.
Perez soon became the first driver to set a lap time on the faster, red-walled, soft compound tyres.
Verstappen was the next driver to set a lap time on the soft tyres but the Dutchman wasn’t able to beat Perez’s time, 0.008 seconds slower than the Mexican.
In the final 15 minutes, Perez remained as the Benchmark to beat with his 1:11 time, ahead of Verstappen in P2.
The Ferrari duo of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc rounded out the top four but Mercedes’ George Russell and Haas’ Mick Schumacher quickly split the two Ferrari’s, in P4 and P5 respectively.
However, Sainz and Leclerc were yet to set a lap time on the soft tyres after only completing their best lap times on the yellow-walled medium compounds.
In the final 10 minutes, Hamilton – who sat P17 – went for a flying lap on a fresh set of the soft compound tyres.
The seven-time world champion looked to be on course to beat Perez’s time as he went 0.017 seconds quicker than the Mexican, in the first sector, but Hamilton locked up in the second sector and had to abandon his lap.
Hamilton, in the #44 Mercedes, quickly got a fast lap under his belt on the soft tyres and only managed to go fifth fastest – one place ahead of his teammate, Russell.
In the late stages, Leclerc and Sainz finally got a hot lap on the board with the soft tyres. The Monegasque went second fastest, 0.004 seconds behind Perez while Sainz occupied fourth place – behind Verstappen, 0.186 seconds off the pace.
Top three:
- Sergio Perez, Red Bull
- Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull
That’s it for the article; F1 Brazil GP: Perez goes fastest as 0.008s separate top three! Who is your early contender for Sprint-pole in qualifying, later on today? Let us know in the comments!
Read more Formula 1 here:
- Red Bull set to go ‘back to normal’ following Sky Sports Boycott
- Mexico GP Review: Ricciardo’s drive, Ferrari’s pace and Perez’s finger wag
- Perez wags finger at home crowd amongst boos
- Mexico GP: Verstappen secures record-breaking victory
To keep up to date with the latest news from Apex Motorsports, follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook!
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.
