Charles is the fastest of the FP1 in the streets of the house. Behind Ferrari there are Verstappen and Norris. Hamilton ninth
The weekend of the house for Charles Leclerc began well: the Ferrari pilot has in fact closed the first free practice session in Munich. Behind him Max Verstappen at almost two tenths. Third Lando Norris, in front of an excellent Alex Albon in fourth position. Fifth the other McLaren of Oscar Plastri, who preceded George Russell. Settimo Carlos Sainz on Williams, in front of Pierre Gasly. Ninth Lewis Hamilton. In tenth position the other veteran Fernando Alonso. The pilots worked mainly on the fast lap, as usual in Munich. Towards the end of the session, however, they also tried the race step.
Start session and red flag
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The activity on the track began immediately, with many drivers who started shooting as soon as the traffic light in Pit Lane became green. Leclerc’s session started with a long Mirabeau. No consequence for the landlord, who began the FP1 with medium tires, as well as Hamilton, Hulkenberg and Bortoleto. The other pilots have instead opted either for the hard or soft compound. That relating to the management of tire sets will be one of the crucial topics of the weekend, given that at least two stops will be mandatory for everyone in the race. After less than 10 minutes, the first red flag of the weekend arrived due to an accident between Leclerc and Stroll in curve 6: the Canadian did not hear the radio communications of its engineer, putting himself in the race trajectory while the Monegasque was in a launched lap. Collision and damaged wing for Ferrari number 16. The session started again after a few minutes, once the debris left on the track by the SF-25 is removed.
The rest of the session
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As usual in the Principality, the pilots began to complete several returns, finding greater confidence and improving their turn around. After the accident that involved him, Leclerc returned to the track with red rubber. In the first half of session, McLaren and Ferraris created a small void at the time of time. Despite the discreet chronometers, Leclerc opened via radio, complaining to suffer from both understeer and surge. Good rhythm for Williams and also for Alonso, with Aston Martin who seems quite improved thanks to the package of updates brought to Imola. Also noteworthy is the first seasonal presence in Paddock of Adrian Newey. Kiss to the wall for plestries and Hamilton towards the term: no consequence for the two single -seater.
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