02/09/2022
NEWS STORY
Ahead of today's opening session the air temperature is 21.5 degrees C, while the track temperature is 28.5 degrees. It is bright and sunny.
Updates are few and far between this weekend with only four teams bothering.
Alpine has a new beam wing and front wing, Alpha Tauri a new rear wing, Williams has revised front wing endplates and Alfa Romeo a new rear corner.
Verstappen and Perez are using different floors, the Mexican using the version introduced at Spa last weekend.
Of particular interest today will be how the driver handle the second DRS zone, which now includes that fabulous banked section. Perhaps fortunately there are no reserve drivers on duty this morning.
The lights go green and Stroll leads the way, followed by Vettel and a certain Mr Verstappen... whose appearance is warmly greeted by the Orange Army.
In no time at all there are 18 drivers on track, all bar Alonso sporting hards. The Spaniard opting for mediums.
As Schumacher runs wide in Turn 11, Stroll posts the first time of the weekend (17.820).
Alonso goes quickest (17.360), ahead of Sainz, Stroll, Ricciardo, Norris and Magnussen.
A 15.646 sees Norris go top as Verstappen improves to fourth with a 15.634 before posting a 15.266.
Six minutes in and everyone has been out, though Vettel, Zhou, Bottas and Albon have yet to post times.
Ricciardo goes top with a 15.263 as Verstappen, having just posted a 14.714, grinds to a halt at Turn 4. "Something went with the gearbox," warns the Dutchman as smoke pours from the rear of the car.
The VSC is deployed before the session is red-flagged.
Behind Verstappen, it's: Ricciardo, Norris, Alonso, Stroll, Perez, Sainz, Leclerc, Schumacher and Russell.
In the Red Bull garage there is silence, as is the case in the grandstands that surround the seaside track.
Meanwhile, Schumacher appears to be in u with the stewards for leaving the pitlane under the red flag.
The session resumes with 40 minutes remaining. Bottas leads the queue at the end of the pitlane.
The stewards deem that there is no need for further investigation of Schumacher.
While most have stuck with the hards, a few, including Perez, Gasly and Ocon have switched to softs.
Alonso, who is also on the red-banded rubber, posts a 13.635 to go top, as Albon goes second (14.668).
Norris goes quickest with a 12.929 as Perez improves to third with a 13.641.
Zhou is the only driver yet to post a time.
Sainz goes quickest (12.845) on the softs as Red Bull confirms that Verstappen did suffer a transmission issue.
"It looks like the fronts don't work with this tyre," reports Albon.
Having been leapfrogged by his (unsympathetic) teammate, Ricciardo is told that he's losing out in Turns 1, 2 and 3. Moments later the Australian runs wide and into the gravel at Turn 11.
Sainz takes a real pounding as he runs high on the banking, going over the white lines and over the unforgiving kerb.
Magnussen and Leclerc both complain about Hamilton going "very slow in the middle of the track". No histrionics however as both are remarkably calm.
Perez runs wide and over the grass at Turn 9.
Stroll opts for the medium as opposed to the soft, the Canadian currently 11th (14.589).
Leclerc improves to fourth with a 13.127, just 0.282s off the pace.
With just over 18 minutes remaining, Russell is the first of the Mercedes pair to switch to the softs. He improves from 19th to 3rd with a 13.035 as teammate Hamilton remains 18th. The seven-time world champion is currently in his garage, his crew busy working on the front of the car.
Following a couple of cool down laps, Russell goes quickest in S1 before appearing to ease off. That said, anothepurple in S3 sees him go top with a 12.455.
At which point Hamilton heads down the pitlane on softs. He subsequently posts a 12.695 top go second, 0.240s off his teammate's pace.
Sainz expresses his anger at Hamilton's "dangerous" move to pass him and start his flying lap.
With Verstappen sidelined, and not having run the softs, a Mercedes 1-2 isn't that unexpected. However it is surprising to see Perez down in seventh, 0.961s off the pace. Wonder if it is anything to do with that new floor. Indeed, the Mexican isn't entirely happy with the car's balance.
Ooh! Norris almost trips up over a very slow Vettel as the session comes to an end.
Russell is quickest, ahead of Hamilton, Sainz, Norris, Ricciardo, Leclerc, Perez, Alonso, Ocon and Albon.
Schumacher is eleventh, ahead of Stroll, Magnussen, Gasly, Vettel, Zhou, Tsunoda, Bottas, Verstappen and Latifi.
Check out our Friday gallery from Zandvoort here.