Carlos Sainz could barely contain his desire to return, so he commanded the peloton that jumped back onto the tarmac at the Red Bull Ring for the first free practice session of the Austrian GP. The McLaren leader set the fourth fastest time of a morning dominated by Lewis Hamilton (1: 04.816), three tenths faster than Valtteri Bottas and six better than Max Verstappen .

The emotion was palpable in the spirit of Sainz, as soon as the green light went on, he headed down the pit road, with Lando Norris and Alexander Albon in his wake. After 214 days of waiting since the race in Abu Dhabi, the 20 Formula 1 cars were returning to the official competition.

It was actually only 19, since a brake problem at the Haas prevented Romain Grosjean from jumping onto the track. The penalties of the American team were shared by Williams and Alpha Tauri, resigned to the slowest cars on the grid. From the completely opposite perspective, Racing Point and Renault questioned McLaren's hierarchy.

After the rain in the early morning and a slight downpour in the initial section, the asphalt dried, allowing Sergio Pérez to shine , the first to drop below 66 seconds. The Mexican confirmed the excellent set-up of Racing Point, which he had already surprised during the pre-season tests in Barcelona.

Daniel Ricciardo also showed some of the virtues of the Renault RS20, with a provisional first place that was immediately swept away by the Mercedes. With soft tires, the black-dyed W11 showed its superiority against Red Bull and Ferrari. Verstappen and Albon waited for the last leg to search the times, while Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel, tenth and twelfth, went even more unnoticed.

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Know more

  • Romain Grosjean
  • Sebastian Vettel
  • Sergio Perez
  • Valtteri Bottas
  • Daniel Ricciardo
  • Max Verstappen
  • Lewis Hamilton
  • Formula 1
  • sports

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