Sainz leads a Ferrari 1-2 in first practice at the Belgian Grand Prix

Carlos Sainz led the first free practice session of the 2022 Belgian Grand Prix at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium.

Charles Leclerc finished in second position, just 0.069 seconds slower than his team-mate Sainz. Max Verstappen finished in third position at the end of the session.

The 2022 FIA Formula 1 season resumed after the three-week summer break with nine races left in the second–half of the season.

A slew of drivers including Leclerc and Verstappen will be taking engine penalties and will start the race from the back of the grid.

Liam Lawson drove in place of Pierre Gasly for the Scuderia AlphaTauri team. Every team has to run a young driver for atleast two practice sessions this season.

The Pirelli tyre choice at this race is the white-striped hard compound tyres (C2), yellow-striped medium compound tyres (C3), and red-striped soft compound tyres (C4), the middle range of compounds in the Pirelli tyre range.

The track was slightly damp at the start due to a light drizzle before the session started. The changeable weather conditions amid the Ardennes mountains prompted the drivers to hit the track immediately after the lights went green.

Some drivers came out on the intermediate tyres to start the session. But the drivers were all on the slick tyres as the track dried up quickly.

Sainz set the initial pace with a lap time of 1m51.622s on the hard compound tyres. Verstappen on the soft compound tyres with a lap time of 1m46.755s went to the top of the time charts.

As the track rubbered in, Alexander Albon and Lewis Hamilton slotted into second and third positions.

With thirty minutes to go, Sainz regained the top spot with a 1m46.538s lap, the fastest lap of the session. Leclerc slotted into second position on his soft compound tyre run.

With twenty-two minutes to go, Kevin Magnussen stopped on the track with an engine issue. The session was red-flagged and resumed with just nine minutes to go.

When the session resumed, a drizzle had started and became a heavy downpour in a few minutes.

The session ended with a Ferrari 1-2 led by Sainz. Verstappen was in third position ahead of George Russell.

Lance Stroll and Albon were surprisingly in fifth and sixth positions. Daniel Ricciardo, Yuki Tsunoda, Hamilton and Sergio Pérez rounded off the top ten positions.

2022 Belgian Grand Prix Free Practice 1 Results: