MADRID, 20 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) has dominated this Friday the first free practice session of the Spanish Grand Prix, sixth round of the Formula 1 World Championship, ahead of the Spanish Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) and the Dutchman Max Verstappen (Red Bull) , while Fernando Alonso (Alpine) has achieved fifth place.
This first session at a Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya that once again received the public with the maximum capacity allowed has been marked by heat, with an ambient temperature of 30 degrees and the track bordering on 50 degrees.
Ferrari started the day as an absolute dominator, although it seems that the teams keep their best cards for this Saturday’s classification, which promises to be crucial for the options of each driver in the driver’s career. Leclerc set the fastest time, a 1:19:828 on soft tires that no driver could beat.
Carlos Sainz set the second fastest time, only 79 thousandths slower than the Monegasque, confirming the good feeling of the ‘Scudería’ in this Spanish GP, where they have incorporated the first best of the course. The Spaniard finished the first session ahead of Verstappen, who completed the ‘podium’, three tenths of the time established by Leclerc.
Regarding Mercedes, George Russell, who finished fourth with a time of 1:20:590, was once again ahead of his teammate Lewis Hamilton, sixth in this first session after completing 27 laps at the Circuit, almost a second behind. best time of Monegasque Leclerc.
In Alpine, Fernando Alonso was fifth in this first session in Barcelona, nine tenths from the fastest Ferrari so far in these first free sessions. The Spaniard showed his ability to settle as an alternative to compete with Mercedes for that fifth-sixth place. His teammate, Frenchman Esteban Ocon, completed a poorer time – two seconds slower than Leclerc – to finish eleventh.
One of the novelties of the session was the participation of young pilots. Estonian Juri Vips climbed into ‘Checo’ Pérez’s Red Bull to post the worst time of the first session, while Dutchman Nyck de Vries took Albon’s seat at Williams to finish eighteenth.
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