Ferrari started the weekend strong, as Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz went first and third fastest. George Russell was right behind, as both Red Bulls completed the top 5.
As the session started, almost everybody went out without losing time. There was a lot of excitement inside the paddock as different top teams brought important updates.
Ferrari went out with the hard tires, Red Bull with the softs, and Mercedes with mediums. That showed that every team had different plans for FP1.
McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes, and Red Bull exchanged the session’s lead. Then, Alexander Albon had to stop his car at the exit of the Acque Minerali Corner due to a technical issue, and the session was red-flagged.
As the session resumed, Charles Leclerc set the fastest time with the soft tires, later overtaken by his teammate Carlos Sainz. George Russell also went first-fastest for a short period, after being overtaken by Leclerc, who improved even more.
Lewis Hamilton also struggled to find the limits, as he spun at the exit of the Acque Minerali. He was not the only one, as many other drivers went wide in the gravel.
The RB F1 Team also seemed strong, as Yuki Tsunoda was fourth-fastest, less than 0.4s behind Leclerc. Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez also went out with the soft tires but only managed to go 4th and 5th fastest respectively, around 0.250s slower.
Verstappen was trying to improve his lap, and he was managing to do so. However, at the chicane of the last sector, he lost the car and went wide. Prior to that, he was saying on the radio that he lacked grip.
Once again, the Dutchman tried to improve his lap, and once again, he made a mistake and went into the gravel at the Acque Minerali, which seemed the trickiest corner.