The session began at 13:30 GMT and Antonio Giovinazzi was the head of a train of cars out the garage to test the limits of the twilight Sakhir circuit. Just a few minutes in a brief VSC was deployed, but all was quickly rectified and shortly after we got out first onboard glimpse of the lightning-fast lap with Carlos Sainz Jr.
George Russell was another out the pits early on with his sights set firmly on getting acclimatised with the all-new track, and the Mercedes stand-in referenced ‘a lot of sand’ blowing through turn six. Seeing as the track is located in the middle of the Arabian desert, a dusty surface is to be expected.
The light soon faded, and around half an hour in Charles Leclerc made the first trip across the gravel after losing the rear in turn four. The Scuderia Ferrari driver was unharmed, and so he went on his way unfazed. The Monegasque finished the session tenth, marking a tricky start to his weekend.
A second incident came soon after, as Pierre Gasly was left awkwardly hanging on to his right wing-mirror for half a lap after it unexpectedly snapped through the bumpy sector two. The Frenchman boxed to repair the issue, and the relatively easy fix ensured his running wasn’t compromised too heavily. Gasly, who won his first race earlier this year, ended up sixth.
Jack Aitken also had a moment on his debut as he dropped it into the gravel at turn three- most likely due to a lack of traction. He seemed to be having a hard time wrestling his Williams around the circuit to start, but he quickly began to make progress He ultimately ended up with twentieth for a rookie- a fairly representative finish for a rookie.
Interestingly, a number of drivers appeared to struggle with the undulation changes present through the second part of the lap- especially turns six and seven. Sergio Pérez’s trip through was one of the most significant, as the Mexican flat-spotted his tyres following a mighty lockup.
Staying true to his unfortunate practice woes, Alexander Albon took a trip off the beaten track at turn three and royally destroyed his red-marked soft tyres after a violent spin saw him narrowly escape the clutches of the barriers. He returned to the pits the same lap-citing ‘pretty poor vibrations’, and boxed for fresh rubber. Valtteri Bottas was another who struggled to preserve his tyres; the Finn locked his front left on a multitude of occasions- no doubt worrying him on a weekend where he needs to demonstrate his aptitude.
The session concluded after a thrilling hour and a half of running, and for the first time in his career George Russell topped the timesheets of a Formula 1 practice session with the fastest lap in F1 history- a 0:54.546. The two Aston Martin Red Bull Racing car’s of Max Verstappen and Alex Albon finished second and third respectively (as they did last weekend) and Bottas and Kvyat completed the top five. Then followed Gasly, Esteban Ocon, Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo and Charles Leclerc in the fastest ten.
Free Practice Two begins in just under two hours time, and Russell will be hoping to replicate his standout performance once more.
