Charles Leclerc quickest at French Grand Prix Free Practice 1 for Ferrari, Red Bull's Max Verstappen second

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was quickest at the first practice session of the French Grand Prix. The Monegasque put down a time of 1:33.930 at Circuit Paul Ricard which is just a couple of hundred miles from his home country of Monaco.

Ad/> Leclerc will be hoping to build on his success at the previous race in Austria, which saw him claim a win to regain some momentum in the drivers’ championship. French Grand Prix‘We’ll be able to compete’ — Hamilton confident ahead of 300th career Grand Prix21 HOURS AGO Second place then and in FP1 was Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, whose vehicle boasted some tape strapping on its right side.

The final podium place in Spielberg went to Lewis Hamilton, who was sitting out the session on Friday afternoon in order to allow Nick De Vries — current Formula E champion — a runout as one the obligatory sessions for rookies. Carlos Sainz, who will take a grid penalty after using a new control electronics unit following a dramatic fire in Austria, was in third.

'Don't welcome them again' — Perez calls for abusive F1 fans to be banned 'I've been taught by my dad' — Schumacher explaiins Austria GP outburst FIA confirm three Sprint races remain for 2023 Formula One calendar Fifth went to Pierre Gasly of AlphaTauri, who earlier had complained of engine trouble making his car impossible to drive. FP2 begins at 4pm BST on Friday afternoon, with Saturday featuring FP3 and qualifying before Sunday’s race proper.