Leclerc fastest from Verstappen in French GP opening practice

Charles Leclerc and Ferrari topped the timesheet in Friday's opening practice at the French Grand Prix, with the Monegasque edging championship rival Max Verstappen by just 0.091s.

Like the majority of the field, both drivers set their fastest lap on Pirelli's soft compound, as did Carlos Sainz and Mercedes' George Russell who completed the top four in the session.

• French Grand Prix Free Practice 1 - Results

Formula 1 kicks off the second half of its 2022 season in Southern France, in the sunny and scorching hot environment of the Circuit Paul Ricard.

The opening session was an opportunity for Nyck de Vries and Robert Kubica to take to the track, respectively with Mercedes and Alfa Romeo.

A quick look at the stats told us that today's first practice was a career first for Lewis Hamilton who has never sat out an FP1 session since the seven-time world champion has been racing in F1 – save for his forced retreat due to Covid in Bahrain in 2020.

Finally, updates this weekend are widespread among the field, with McLaren and AlphaTarui topping the list in terms of the number of changes.

Ferrari's Carlos Sainz and Kubica were the first drivers to hit to road, but there was understandably little effort to force the issue in the early part of the session as everyone gauged their equipment.

Verstappen, running on the soft tyre, eventually seized the top spot with a 1m34.991 that edged Perez by over half a second, while Leclerc, Russell and Sainz lined up behind.

While the Dutchman improved on his early best time, he was overhauled by Sainz - also on the softs - who put himself 0.078s clear of the Red Bull.

Russel was third but the Britain was followed close behind by an impressive de Vries.

However, shortly after the session's halfway mark, the pecking order was disrupted again, with Verstappen reclaiming the fastest lap and followed by Leclerc and Sainz.

Shortly after, AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly sprung to P4 but the Frenchman was a full second adrift although Russell reclaimed the spot as the session entered its final 15 minutes.

With 10 minutes to go, Leclerc pulled out a sub-1m34 lap that cleared Verstappen by 0.091s, a time that would remain unbeaten in the session and which give the Monegasque and Ferrari the first advantage of the weekend.

Sainz, Russell, Gasly and Sergio Perez completed the top six while McLare put both their cars among the top ten, with Norris in P7 and Ricciardo in P10.

Williams' Alex Albon enjoyed a strong debut with 8th, just one spot ahead of de Vries in ninth.

Alfa Romeo's Zhou Guanyu led the second half of the field from Aston Martin's Lance Stroll and Alpine's Esteban Ocon. The Frenchman's teammate Fernando Alonso was a lowly P15, reflecting the Enstone squad's quiet debut at its home race.

Haas was equally low-profile in FP1 with Mick Schumacher clocking in 16th just ahead of teammate Kevin Magnussen.

Alfa reserve Kubica and Wiiliams' Latifi closed out the running order.

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