#BelgianGP FP1: @Carlossainz55 tops wet session ahead of @McLaren duo. #F1

Sainz Belgian GP FP1 – Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz topped the time-sheets in a rain-soaked FP1 session ahead of the McLaren pairing Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

Sainz posted the benchmark of a 2:03.207 on the green side-walled intermediates and was 0.585 seconds quicker than Piastri as Norris was a further 1.277 adrift of the Spaniard in third.

The sole practice session ahead of qualifying featured rain, and a wet Circuit De Spa-Francorchamps greeted the 20 drivers as they sought to cram it all in the sprint weekend into the 60-minute running.

Williams Racing’s Alexander Albon was the first the head out on track on the intermediates, followed by team-mate Logan Sargeant as Mercedes’ Sir Lewis Hamilton emerged on the blue-marked full wets in his initial run with the upgraded F1 W14.

Albon registered the first benchmark of a 2:08.394 as the rain started to slowly intensify in the early proceedings. Hamilton’s initial effort on the full wets was 1.9 seconds slower than the Williams driver’s lap-time.

Although Albon was on course to improve on his first flyer, he was unable to slow down at the right braking point at the Bus Stop Chicane and had to return to the pits after getting his FW45 racer out of the run-off area.

Scuderia AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda placed his AT04 above Hamilton in the classification by 0.2 seconds and held control of his car on his next visit towards Eau Rouge as his AT04 wiggled halfway up the hill to force the Japanese driver forcing him into the Raidillon run-off area.

The early running then quickly dried up as the standing water around the Circuit De Spa-Francorchamps grew with the heavier rain, although Sainz, Norris and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez opted to brave the conditions on the wet rubber once the opening session’s 15 minutes drew to a close.

Sainz set a 2:09.081 to sit behind Albon as he continued to tour the circuit, whilst Norris joined a number of drivers on the intermediate compounds as track conditions continued to improve slightly.

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly also had emerged on the intermediates and was set to beat Albon’s effort, but the Frenchman also suffered a lock-up at the Bus Stop. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc instead moved to the top of the leaderboard on the full wets, posting a 2:08.148.

Norris then ousted that on the intermediates with a 2:04.484, 3.7 seconds over Leclerc, but the McLaren driver was beaten by team-mate Oscar Piastri setting a 2:03.792.

Then Sainz on inters, found half-a-second on Piastri to post a 2:03.297, which stood as the session’s best time.

Sargeant then caused a red flag having gone straight off at the end of the Kemmel Straight, with the American stating he “couldn’t turn” as he turned his steering wheel right with no effect, and came to a halt at Le Combes.

Once the FW45 was cleared and the session resumed with 20 minutes remaining, there was no runners as the rain intensified even more.

Perez and Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen then broke the post-red flag lull and emerged with the intermediates, despite the wet weather causing havoc at the Ardennes. Both drivers managed an installation lap before returning to the pits.

The Aston Martin duo also rain their own sighting tours on the intermediates, before returning to their garages. Both Ferrari’s, Alfa Romeo’s and Haas entries emerged on circuit at the end of the session, as did Hamilton, to do one final lap.

15 drivers posted lap-times with Norris’s enough for third in the classification in-front of Leclerc – who had the quickest lap on the full wets.

Perez was fifth-fastest over Albon, whilst Tsunoda was a tenth quicker than Haas F1 Team’s Kevin Magnussen who took eighth.

AlphaTauri’s Daniel Ricciardo placed ninth as Nico Hulkenberg rounded out the top ten in the other VF-23 entry.

Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso finished outside the top 10 in 11th place and ahead of Mercedes duo Hamilton and George Russell who were 12th and 13th respectively.

Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas was 14th and the final driver who registered a lap-time.

The aforementioned Sargeant, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, Alpine duo Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon and reigning world champion Max Verstappen all did not register a lap-time.

You can see the full Formula 1 MSC Cruises Belgian Grand Prix 2023 Free Practice 1 Results Classification at the link: https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2023/races/1216/belgium/practice-1.html

#F1 MSC Cruises #BelgianGP 2023 Preview. #Formula1 #BelgianGrandPrix