Right off the bat, everyone exited pitlane for the first and only free practice session of this weekend, in an attempt to find the optimal setup for this sprint weekend. Max Verstappen, of course, topped the rankings after the first round of timed laps.
He was momentarily eclipsed by both George Russell and Nico Hülkenberg, but went 1.5 seconds quicker a little later, despite being on a compound harder than Hülkenberg.
All drivers were busy working on the setup for the race, with everyone on either the hard or medium tyres. And this of course meant people were running into traffic, with Carlos Sainz getting a little bit too close for comfort with Lando Norris’ McLaren in the esses.
After about six or seven laps every driver returned to the pits, with some extra caution for Lance Stroll. He is warned by his team about an issue on the front left corner, and as soon as he’s in the box the front left brake is being investigated.
With Verstappen in the pits it is Lewis Hamilton who takes the top spot, soon followed by Yuki Tsunoda who goes to third. Sainz in the meantime complains about the car jumping around on the straights.
After about 20 minutes Norris jumps to third place, when the track becomes a bit silent, as only the Briton and Charles Leclerc are still on track.
Around the halfway point more and more drivers are re-emerging on the track, with a clear focus on the long runs, as the timing screens are mostly yellow. Alexander Albon has a small moment in turn 12, but other than some dirt on his tyres there is no harm done.
At the back of the field, we find both Aston Martins and Alpines, with the cars in British Racing Green being halted because of high front brake temperatures, which requires some adjustments.
The revelation of the last few races, Oscar Piastri, has a big moment coming out of turn 9, bouncing through the grass and barely keeping the car under control. Hamilton is the next one to make a mistake, albeit a tiny one. The Mercedes driver brakes slightly too late and needs to use the runoff in turn 1.
Norris suddenly decides to go to the top with a little over a tenth on 11 laps old mediums, when Verstappen enters the pits. The next driver to have a little detour is Daniel Ricciardo, who has a smidge of oversteer in turn 12.
With a little over a quarter of an hour to go it is Logan Sargeant who is the first to try the soft tyre. The American goes to fourth, but a sloppy first sector reveals it could have been better. Teammate Albon does a better job and goes to the top with a margin of seven-tenths.
More cars emerge on the red Pirelli’s, except for Norris who does another stint on the same used mediums. Verstappen beats Albon despite a sloppy lap, while both AlphaTauris fail to beat Albon. Pérez briefly goes second at the moment that Verstappen complains about his seat being hot.
Leclerc pips Pérez for second, and Hamilton is unable to convert two purple sectors to a new fastest time, as he loses too much in the final sector.
Alonso is the only one still doing long runs, as a result of the brake issues. His teammate hasn’t gone out since, putting Stroll at the bottom of the table.
With no more improvements, it’s Verstappen who leads the pack, followed by Leclerc and Hamilton. Pérez is fourth in front of the first Haas of Kevin Magnussen. Russell is sixth, Albon seventh and Sainz a little disappointing eighth. Hülkenberg is ninth, proving that the update that Haas brought is promising. Pierre Gasly rounds up the top 10, but not without a less-than-safe release just before the end of the session.
