Lando Norris narrowly edged out Max Verstappen to lead a competitive FP1 in F1 Spanish GP, with Carlos Sainz ending up third.
Red Bull expected to return to its form at Barcelona, but Max Verstappen (1m14.252s) was edged out by McLaren’s Lando Norris (1m14.228s) by 0.024s margin to lead FP1 in F1 Spanish GP, where both ran the soft compound to set their best lap.
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz (1m14.572s) and Mercedes’ George Russell made it four different teams in the Top 4. Norris, meanwhile, had a moment early in the session, as did Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, while Verstappen did so late in the session where they had to save it.
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez was fifth from McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, where both ran the soft compound unlike Sainz and Russell. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton was seventh from Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in ninth.
Williams’ Alexander Albon rounded out the Top 10, where Hamilton and Ocon set their best time on the medium compound wile Alonso and Albon did so on soft. The Spaniard caused a brief red flag after a front wing element broke on the racing line.
Leclerc and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly in 11th and 13th also set their best time on the medium compound. Stake F1 Team’s Valtteri Bottas was 12th in between them, with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll in 14th from an upgraded Visa Cash App RB’s Daniel Ricciardo in 15th.
The other Stake F1 Team car of Zhou Guanyu was 16th from Haas’ Kevin Magnussen, Williams’ Logan Sargeant, Haas stand-in Oliver Bearman – replacing Nico Hulkenberg – and Visa Cash App RB’s Yuki Tsunoda, rounding the 20 runners.
Replays showed highly wobbly rear wings at Stake F1 Team and Visa Cash App RB cars, while Leclerc also termed the car as horrendous at one point. The PU list had takers with Verstappen on his fourth ICE as did Gasly, with Sainz getting a third one in only the 10th round.
Both the Dutchman and the Frenchman took their fourth TC, with the Spaniard taking his third of the same. In terms of MGU-H, Verstappen, Leclerc and Gasly took their fourth element with Sainz taking his third. The MGU-K has fourth element for Verstappen and Gasly, with Sainz taking his third.
For the ES, Perez, Ocon and Guanyu took their second of the season. Guanyu also took his second CE. Here’s the PU elements list: https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/decision-document/2024%20Spanish%20Grand%20Prix%20-%20New%20PU%20elements%20for%20this%20Competition.pdf
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