Round 11 of the 2024 Formula 1 Season began with the first and only practise session of the weekend, and all cars immediately out on track apart from the Williams.
Norris mentioned issues with his steering wheel, as the bets early time is set in 1:07.932s by Russell on hards, followed by Hamilton and Verstappen on the mediums.
The McLaren driver slotted then in P2, but it’s short lasted as Hamilton signs the first lap in the 1:06s while running over the kerbs.
The Williams driver both come out on track ten minutes into the session on softs, with Albon getting a P9 on his first lap and Sargeant in P13.
All the temas are opting for different strategies and simulations in order to prepare the whole weekend. Russell returns in the provisional top spot, confirming the strong pace provided by Mercedes in the latests rounds with a pole and two consecutive podiums.
Leclerc on hards improves to P6, ahead of his teammate Carlos Sainz, as Russell goes wide off track.
At the halfway point of the session this was the top ten: Hamilton, Russell, Verstappen, Perez, Norris, Leclerc, Sainz, Magnussen, Piastri and Ocon.
The drivers are also getting to know the new track liits following some very busy days for the stewards last time out in Austria.
The first red flag of the day is issued with 27 minutes to go, as Max Verstappen suffers from an engine issue on the pit straight. The session resumed four minutes later after the removal of the RB20, with the reigning champion immediately returning on track as the team was able to fix his car already.
Red Bull later revealed that the three times World Champion suffered from a sensor issue.
There was a close moment between Albon and Tsunoda, with the former speeding unseen and extremely close to the AlphaTauri driver, who opened up on the radio on the dangerousness of the behaviour from the former Red Bull driver.
The top ten of the fastest times remains the same with 15 minutes to to the end of the session, as most of the grid make their way backj to the pits to tweak their setups ahead of Sprint qualifying later today. The remaining drivers, which include Bottas, Sargeant and Alonso, are focusing on longer stints.
Hamilton returns in the lead with a 1:06.254s with 10 minutes left, meanwhile the Saubers of Zhou and Bottas slot in P7 and 8 respectively with their lap on the softest compound.
The Racing Bulls drover are the next to pull significantly faster laps on softs, as Tsunoda slots in P3 behind the Mercedes duo and Ricciardo in P10. Lance Stroll as another great improver as well, shortly after the announcement of his contract prolongation with Aston Martin for 2025 and beyond, as he ends up in P2 splitting Hamilton and Russell with a 1:06.384s
With 5 minutes to go Ferrari whips out the big guns, going on the top with Leclerc and Sainz, but it’s a brief moment of glory as Verstappen signs the first 1:05 lap of the day in 1:05.685s, followed by Oscar Piastri.
In the final moments of the session Norris attempted to improve his previous best lap, signing a purple sector, but was unsuccessful, ending the session in P13.
Verstappen begins Red Bull’s home round on top ahead of Piastri and Leclerc, with Sainz and Hamilton rounding off the top five and Ocon, Stroll,Russell, Tsunoda and Alonso in the top 10.
