Max Verstappen fastest in FP1, ahead of Austrian GP qualifying

Teams looked to maximise their time on track as soon as the pitlane exit light turned green, and Verstappen’s 1min 8.656 lap set the pace early on, while his team-mate had a trip into the gravel at Turn 4 within the opening five minutes.

The times continued to fall as drivers circulated on the medium tyre. Verstappen remained at the top, initially followed by Alonso, and then by Leclerc, who set a time 0.568sec slower than Verstappen’s improved 1min 7.496 lap.

Then, 20 minutes in, the first red flag was waved. Going through the middle sector, Norris stopped on the side of the track, after telling his team that smoke was coming from under his seat and his car was on fire. He leapt out and his car was recovered, although there was no sign of a blaze.

The clock was left ticking and the eight-minute stoppage brought the session close to its halfway point; the cue for the first teams to send their cars out on soft tyres to prepare for qualifying.

Sainz initially went fastest with a 1min 7.149 before Leclerc then beat that by half a second to briefly top the timesheet. Verstappen then retook that spot with a 1min 6.302 lap.

With 21 minutes to go, a second red flag stopped the session because of a piece of debris on track, which Alex Albon ran over. The session got going again with 15 minutes left and the majority of drivers on soft tyres, with the exception of the Alpine drivers and Daniel Ricciardo who was struggling with setup. With Norris remaining in the pits, it capped a miserable session for McLaren.

As the final laps came in, Leclerc managed to improve his lap time with a 1min 6.557sec effort, but was still a couple of tenths off Verstappen. Alonso was the only medium-tyred driver inside the top 10.

2022 Austrian Grand Prix FP1 results