By Joe Murphy
After nearly fourteen days away from the track, it was good to see the cars back out there. In a session where track development played an obvious part, Lance Stroll made sure it was his Aston Martin who was quickest, with teammate Fernando Alonso not as beneficiary of a late run.
A red flag may have brought a premature end to the session following a minor fire, but this didn’t prevent a busy session. On the contrary, in fact. It was Oscar Piastri who was the nearest challenger, demonstrating that McLaren do have pace around this circuit, whilst Max Verstappen kept within touch in P3, to remind us all that they remain favourites to take all the accolades this weekend. Sergio Perez followed suit.
Whilst it is only a Friday session, this signifies more importance than usual, considering that the schedule has been shaken up by the addition of a Sprint Race and Qualifying. So it is to be taken with a pinch of salt, but Haas will be very happy with how Practice 1 went. Touted by many to finish last in the Constructors’ champions, 5th and 6th place with please all involved with the team, as they suggested that points are not off the table this weekend.
Also impressing was Estaban Ocon who finished just behind this pair, although Pierre Gasly remained footed to the bottom of the order.
Daniel Ricciardo needs a strong weekend and he made a good start by putting in a time good enough to get into the top ten, with his teammate Yuki Tsunoda only able to manage three places further back in 12th.
As the weekend progresses, both Ferrari and McLaren will be hoping to improve and move up the order, hoping to challenge the likes of McLaren for what you imagine will be that final podium position. If anything happens to a Red Bull car, the rivals have to be there to give themselves half a chance. Still, there is plenty of action to come over the next 48 hours or so.
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