Ferrari has begun training vigorously for the weekend of Formula 1’s French Grand Prix, where it will be aiming for a third consecutive win, with driver Carlos Sainz setting the best of a day of free practice at Le Castellet this Friday. 22), ahead of his teammate Charles Leclerc.
The Italian team was the fastest in both sessions of the day, with Leclerc first and Sainz second. The Spaniard will lose at least 10 places on the starting grid for Sunday’s race (24), as he has gone through the application of components for his car’s power unit.
P1 and P2 inches #FP2 Carlos and Charles. for#essereFerrari I #frenchgp pic.twitter.com/O95YQNl5kv
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) 22 July 2022
Monegasque, the winner of the previous race in Austria, set a best time of 1min33s930 on soft tyres, ahead of championship leader Max Verstappen, in first practice. Sainz, however, clocked 1:32.527 in the afternoon session.
Verstappen said the Red Bull team was testing a few things in the car, and they still hadn’t found the proper balance. “We will get everything for tomorrow, and of course we will try to be closer than today,” said the Dutchman.
After Sainz’s victory in Britain, Ferrari won the final race with Leclerc. With a total of 22 races for the season, Verstappen is 38 points behind Leclerc after 11 races.
George Russell was fourth with Mercedes in both seasons, and his teammate, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, sat out the inaugural season for the first time to make room for reserve driver and Formula E champion Nick de Vries. Hamilton finished fifth at noon.
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