FP1 China: The track is on fire, the best time from Lance Stroll / Formula 1

The only hour of free practice at the “Shanghai International Circuit” was shortened by a red flag that was displayed for an unusual reason: the grass near the Chinese track caught fire at turn 7, so the GP stars had to take a five- minutes. “It’s painful, of course, but it’s the same for everyone,” explained Aston Martin team boss Mike Krack.

At least: The problem was quickly resolved and seven drivers, Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri, Alex Albon, Logan Sargeant and the two Racing Bulls Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda, ventured onto the track again.

Kevin Magnussen and George Russell also moved away shortly after, with Red Bull Racing drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez following suit. The first had already topped the hourly chart before it was interrupted and continued to improve the record. Shortly before the red flag, he broke the 1:39 mark with a time of 1:38.498 minutes.

His teammate Nico Hülkenberg, who took third place, also managed a time of 1:38. Charles Leclerc in 4th place was first after 25 minutes, having to settle for 1:39 at this point. But not for long, because the current third place in the World Cup was on soft tires. Using a time of 1:38.130 minutes, he took the lead and his teammate, who was also on the smoothest roller on the track, left behind the two Red Bull Racing drivers, who were accelerating on medium tires.

So at the break the order was: Leclerc ahead of Sainz, Verstappen, Pérez, Hülkenberg, Lando Norris, Pierre Gasly, LanceStroll, Fernando Alonso, and local hero Guanyu Zhou. Esteban Ocon, Russell, Magnussen, Valtteri Bottas, Ricciardo, Albon, Piastri, Lewis Hamilton, Tsunoda and Sargeant followed in other positions.

An incident with Hamilton pushing Hülkenberg off the track and braking in front of the pit gate caused so much excitement, that he had no choice but to drive through the pit lane. He did not connect to the road according to the law, for which he was shown a black and white flag. It wasn’t just the seven-time world champion who had a hard time getting to the pit lane. Later, Alonso and Piastri braked there.

At the front, Leclerc improved the record to 1:38.090 minutes 25 minutes before the end of the session, and the large number of spectators in the grandstand also saw some brakemen and horses. Sainz came close to the track in turn 10 and hit the gravel because the track officials had built a gravel bed at the time. Drivers now also have to be careful at turns 12 and 16 to avoid ending up on the gravel.

As expected, the track conditions were greatly improved and the times dropped accordingly. In the last 10 minutes, many drivers also took the opportunity to prepare on soft tires for the sprint qualifying, which was next.

Albon took the top spot with a time of 1:37.229, but was forced to stop once his Red Bull Racing teammates accelerated on the softer tire area. Verstappen pushed the record to 1:36.660 minutes and thus pushed his teammate out of the lead.

In the end, however, the champion only took third place, as Piastri took first place before Stroll set the fastest lap at the end. On the other side of the time sheet were Russell, Hamilton, Alonso and Gasly, although the two Mercedes stars and Alonso were only on hard tyres. Gasly struggled with an ERS problem that prevented him from performing at his best.

1. Studies, China

01. Lance Stroll (CDN), Aston Martin, 1:36,302 min
02. Oscar Piastri (AUS), McLaren, 1:36.629
03. Max Verstappen (NL), Red Bull Racing, 1:36,660
04. Sergio Pérez (MEX), Red Bull Racing, 1:36.690
05. Nico Hülkenberg (D), Haas, 1:37.101
06. Kevin Magnussen (DK), Haas, 1:37.118
07. Esteban Ocon (F), Alpine, 1:37,213
08. Alex Albon (T), Williams, 1:37,229
09. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS), Racing Bull, 1:37.238
10. Valtteri Bottas (FIN), Sauber, 1:37.530
11. Guanyu Zhou (RCH), Sauber, 1:37,626
12. Yuki Tsunoda (J), Racing Bulls, 1:38,006
13. Charles Leclerc (MC), Ferrari, 1:38,090
14. Carlos Sainz (E), Ferrari, 1:38.284
15. Logan Sargeant (USA), Williams, 1:38,286
16. Lando Norris (GB), McLaren, 1:38.630
17. George Russell (GB), Mercedes, 1:38,806
18. Lewis Hamilton (GB), Mercedes, 1:38,839
19. Fernando Alonso (E), Aston Martin, 1:38.936
20. Pierre Gasly (F), Alpine, 1:39,276