(Motorsport-Total.com) – Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) secured the best time in the first free practice session for the Chinese Grand Prix. The Canadian took advantage of the improved grip conditions at the end of the session and moved to the top of the rankings, 0.327 seconds ahead of Oscar Piastri (McLaren) and 0.358 seconds ahead of Max Verstappen (Red Bull).
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Lance Stroll secured the fastest time in the first free practice session in Shanghai
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Because Shanghai is the first sprint weekend of the 2024 Formula 1 season, the drivers and teams spread their training programs more widely than usual. This makes it difficult to compare the lap times, as does the fact that the grip conditions were difficult to calculate, which led to numerous rides – also in the pit entrance.
Lewis Hamilton (18th/Mercedes/+2.537), for example, experienced deja vu when he crossed the white line at the pit entrance and was shown the black and white flag as a warning by the race director. That brought back memories of 2007. Later, Fernando Alonso (19th/Aston Martin/+2.634) also drove straight ahead at the same point.
Hello TV-Expert Christian Klien says about the result: “I would wait and not read too much into this first training session. That was an assessment of what the track is like. They will only start gassing in the sprint qualifying.”
But Helmut Marko says in the interview Sky: “We have to improve significantly if we want to be at the front. The tires overheat relatively quickly and our overall driving behavior is not up to our normal standard. The car doesn’t behave the way the drivers want it to.”
“If you look at it: Ferrari only had one set of tires, Lando Norris was very fast. And we lose in almost all sections. Well, we don’t know exactly how much fuel the people were using. That’s an uncertainty factor.”
“I hope that the track will improve in terms of grip. There are a few things that can still play into our hands, but it will be very close,” says Marko and adds: “The long run was relatively consistent. But the driving behavior “It’s not as it should be at the moment.”
“I rate Ferrari and McLaren very highly. But thank God the regulations have changed so that we have our own race for the main race on Saturday. You certainly have to decide now: where do you put the main focus on it, on the main race or the sprint? Of course: ideally on both. But that will be very difficult, especially for us.”
On the subject: Result, 1st free practice
Stream: Analysis live on YouTube (3:00 p.m.)
One of those who was undervalued was Norris (16th/+2,328). Shortly before the end, the McLaren driver was on his way to a potential best time, but was held up in the last sector by Kevin Magnussen (Haas) and was unable to improve. An incident that was investigated by the race stewards but not punished.
By the way, Magnussen took sixth place, 0.017 seconds behind his teammate Nico Hülkenberg, who finished fifth. Esteban Ocon (7th/+0.911), equipped with a new underbody from Alpine, also finished in the top 10. And the Sauber drivers Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou secured positions 10 and 11.
The two Ferraris, which were still at the top of the rankings shortly before the final phase, were passed through to P13/14 in the final minutes. Mercedes finished P17/18. This alone shows that the lap times should be interpreted with caution for the time being. Many of the top teams have concentrated on long runs, others have already gone for time.
An unusual incident occurred about 15 minutes into the session when a small fire suddenly burned on the grass next to the track. How the fire started is still unclear. In any case, the race management played it safe and briefly showed a red flag until the smoke was under control.
Where can you watch sprints and races live?
Shanghai is the first of six sprint race weekends in the 2024 Formula 1 season (click here for the complete calendar!) – with a changed format: the sprint qualifying takes place on Friday afternoon, the sprint race on Saturday morning, and qualifying for the Grand Prix on Saturday afternoon and the Grand Prix as always on Sunday.
In Germany, the Chinese Grand Prix will not be broadcast on free TV. If you want to watch sprints and races live, you have to use a paid service. The sprint starts on Saturday at 5:00 a.m., the race starts on Sunday at 9:00 a.m. In each case German time, with a six-hour time difference between Munich and Shanghai. (Click here for the TV overview!)
One Analysis of sporting events However, Kevin Scheuren and Christian Nimmervoll deliver daily on the Formula1.de YouTube channel – free of charge for all users, without any pay-TV barrier. The F1 show takes place on all days of the race weekend at 3:00 p.m. German time and offers channel members the opportunity to ask questions in the live chat.