F1 Practice Round-Up: Verstappen and Leclerc To Take Engine Penalties

Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen were the men to beat in Friday’s F1 Practice Sessions for Sunday’s Belgian GP.

The day began well for Ferrari, with Sainz and Leclerc 1st and 2nd in FP1, a much-needed boost for the Scuderia as they look to reduce the deficit to Red Bull and Verstappen in the F1 Championship.

In the second session, however, Verstappen found himself in the ascendency, setting a time eight-tenths of a second faster than Leclerc, who was 2nd again. Both sessions were dampened by rain but that did not stop some impressive showings, most notably from Alex Albon (6th in FP1) and Lance Stroll, who made the top 6 in both outings.

The likelihood of Verstappen and Leclerc starting close together is high but in unfamiliar territory. Their respective teams confirmed that both drivers will be taking penalties for power unit changes, and will start no higher than 15th.

Free Practice 1

1. Carlos Sainz – Ferrari – 1:46.538
2. Charles Leclerc – Ferrari –  1:46.607
3. Max Verstappen – Red Bull – 1:46.755
4. George Russell – Mercedes – 1:47.396
5. Lance Stroll – Aston Martin – 1:47.437
6. Alexander Albon – Williams – 1:47.835
7. Daniel Ricciardo – McLaren – 1:48.081
8. Yuki Tsunoda – AlphaTauri – 1:48.310
9. Sir Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes – 1:48.420
10. Sergio Perez – Red Bull – 1:48.474
11. Nicholas Latifi – Williams – 1:48.485
12. Zhou Guanyu – Alfa Romeo – 1:48.672
13. Lando Norris -McLaren – 1:49.470
14. Fernando Alonso – Alpine – 1:49.664
15. Sebastian Vettel – Aston Martin – 1:49.813
16. Esteban Ocon – Alpine – 1:50.315
17. Kevin Magnussen – Haas – 1:50.982
18. Mick Schumacher – Haas – 1:51.259
19. Liam Lawson – AlphaTauri – 1:52.065
20. Valtteri Bottas – Alfa Romeo – NO TIME

Free Practice 2

1. Max Verstappen – Red Bull – 1:45.507
2. Charles Leclerc – Ferrari – 1:46.369
3. Lando Norris – McLaren – 1:46.589
4. Lance Stroll – Aston Martin – 1:46.635
5. Carlos Sainz – Ferrari – 1:46.649
6. Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes – 1:46.893
7. Fernando Alonso – Alpine –  1:46.975
8. George Russell – Mercedes – 1:47.042
9. Daniel Ricciardo – McLaren – 1:47.255
10. Sergio Pérez – Red Bull – 1:47.346
11. Alexander Albon – Williams – 1:47.520
12. Zhou Guanyu – Alfa Romeo – 1:47.617
13. Yuki Tsunoda – AlphaTauri – 1:47.658
14. Pierre Gasly – AlphaTauri – 1:47.782
15. Sebastian Vettel – Aston Martin – 1:47.867
16. Esteban Ocon – Alpine – 1:47.944
17. Kevin Magnussen – Haas – 1:48.208
18. Valtteri Bottas – Alfa Romeo – 1:48.419
19. Nicholas Latifi – Williams – 1:48.612
20. Mick Schumacher – Haas – 1:49.941

Source: F1

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