F1 2022 results: French GP – First Practice session

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc struck the opening blow at the French Grand Prix weekend, finishing top of the timesheet in FP1.

Leclerc, currently the closest title contender to World Championship leader Max Verstappen, set the early pace with a 1:33.930 set on the soft tyres in baking hot conditions at the Paul Ricard circuit.

Verstappen was very much in close quarters in second place, just 0.091s behind the leading Ferrari. Leclerc’s team-mate Carlos Sainz, who will carry at least a 10-place engine penalty this weekend, rounded off the top three.

With many expecting a Mercedes resurgence in France, there was no sign of it so far with George Russell nearly a second slower down in P4. Nyck de Vries, in the Mercedes cockpit instead of Lewis Hamilton as part of the FP1 ‘young driver’ programme, finished in P9 and five tenths slower than Russell.

Pierre Gasly, showcasing the new and upgraded AlphaTauri, was an eye-catching P5 and quicker than Sergio Perez in the other Red Bull.

Norris followed next in P7, with Alex Albon and Daniel Ricciardo also climbing into the top 10 on the timesheet.

The full FP1 timesheet is below and click here for the full FP1 session report.

1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:33.930

2 Max Verstappen Red Bull 0.091s

3 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 0.338s

4 George Russell Mercedes 0.951s

5 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri 1.049s

6 Sergio Perez Red Bull 1.244s

7 Lando Norris McLaren 1.302s

8 Alex Albon Williams 1.484s

9 Nyck de Vries Mercedes 1.496s

10 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren 1.730s

11 Guanyu Zhou Alfa Romeo Racing 1.746s

12 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1.880s

13 Esteban Ocon Alpine 1.898s

14 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin 1.921s

15 Fernando Alonso Alpine 1.945s

16 Mick Schumacher Haas 2.092s

17 Kevin Magnussen Haas