Belgian GP: Carlos Sainz leads Ferrari one-two in Practice One as Max Verstappen trails in Spa
Carlos Sainz outpaces Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc and Red Bull's Max Verstappen to top timesheet in first practice; red flag and heavy rainfall curtail running time in Spa; watch Practice Two from the Belgian GP live on Sky Sports F1 from 3:45pm on Friday
Friday 26 August 2022 14:40, UK
Carlos Sainz led a one-two from team-mate Charles Leclerc as Ferrari outpaced Red Bull in opening practice at the Belgian Grand Prix on Formula One's resumption following the summer break.
World championship leader Max Verstappen, who heads into the final nine races of the season with an 80-point lead over second-placed Leclerc, was 0.2s behind Sainz in third.
The session's dry running time was cut significantly short as an electrical issue on the Haas of Kevin Magnussen triggered a red flag, before heavy rainfall upon the resumption ensured the timesheet would not change in the closing stages.
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Sainz's strong performance establishes the Spaniard as the early favourite for Sunday's race, with it having been confirmed during the session that both Verstappen and Leclerc - along with four other cars - will start towards the back of grid after taking new engine parts.
George Russell was 0.8s off the pace in fourth for Mercedes, with team-mate Lewis Hamilton a further second back in ninth. However, the fact contrasting warmer conditions are forecast over the weekend will leave the Silver Arrows with hope they can take advantage of their rivals' grid penalties to contend for a first victory of the season.
Following the three-week summer break, Verstappen immediately found his groove, going more than two seconds quicker than any other car in the early stages.
However, just beyond the halfway point of the session, Ferrari unveiled their pace on the soft tyre, with Sainz going fastest before Leclerc slotted into second, less than a tenth behind his team-mate.
Soon after the session was halted as Magnussen stopped out on track, with a high voltage issue on the car delaying its recovery and causing an 11-minute delay.
A queue at the end of the pit lane formed as the light went green with nine minutes remaining, but by the time the cars had completed their out laps, rain was falling, preventing any challenge to Sainz's superiority.
Haas were not the only team to suffer technical issues, with Valtteri Bottas failing to set a flying lap for Alfa Romeo, and Esteban Ocon having his session cut short by what appeared to be a hydraulics problem.
The session also marked the F1 practice debut of Liam Lawson, who finished 19th in Pierre Gasly's AlphaTauri as he fulfilled one of the team's obligated young driver tests.
