The only practice session during the Chinese Grand Prix is finished and it was a busy session: A fire after 15 minutes of training interrupted the session and the tricky wind conditions led some drivers to lock up at the pit entry and. From what it seems, fans can look forward to an interesting weekend for the first time in five years in China.
Today, teams needed to make the most out of the practice session and gather as much data as possible, since it was the only one this weekend.
As this was a crucial training session, most drivers left the pit as soon as the session started and home-hero Zhou set the first time of the day.
The session started a bit messy, as drivers were struggling with grip and often got into the gravel. Moreover, three lock ups occurred right before the pit entry but while Fernando Alonso and Oscar Piastri were testing the waters and might have underestimated the wind, Lewis Hamilton was in a messier situation.
The incident, that ultimately forced Hamilton to lock up and drive through the pits, occurred in minute 34. This was already leading up in the corners before, when the 7-time World Champion squished Nico Hulkenberg out of a corner, had to make space for Verstappen, who was on a flying lap, and then overlooked Piastri in front of him, which then led to the lock up.
Hamilton received a black-and-white flag for this incident which by itself has no consequences but is a warning to not make any more mistakes.
After 15 minutes, the practice was interrupted by a red flag. This was not due to an accident but a fire next to the track. It is still not clear how the it occurred, but it was speculated that it was triggered by sparks combined with the windy conditions today.
Hamilton’s teammate, George Russell, was the last driver to exit the pits and his first lap put him last, 2.651 seconds behind Yuki Tsunoda after 25 minutes of practice.
The two Mercedes drivers were only testing on hard tires today, making them the only team to solely drive on one tire compound. In the end, Russell and Hamilton were only 17th and 18th and a radio message made clear that 39-year-old was not happy with the car.
Alpine had an interesting practice session as well, as the two cars were running on a different set up. Esteban Ocon’s car received his update one race early, meaning he got a new floor and other upgrades, putting him in 7th place. Pierre Gasly, on the other hand, was frustrated, saying that he has not learned anything from today.
Overall, it can be said that McLaren, Red Bull and Ferrari are in a strong position for this weekend, even though the Papaya-colored squad shows slow speed in certain parts of the track.
Even though Aston Martin was not showing outstanding results during the whole session, Stroll ended up setting the fastest lap with a gap of three tenths to Piastri in second. Verstappen finished third, followed by Perez, Hülkenberg and Magnussen. Zhou was in 7th place after his first practice session in Formula 1 in his home race.