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Formula 1
French GP
F1 French GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP1 & FP2
Live updates from Friday practice at Paul Ricard
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Looks like it was caused by a piece of debris from Verstappen's Red Bull left on the track after riding those vicious Turn 2 kerbs.
Lights green
It's only a brief one though, and we're back to green.
Safety car
We've got a Virtual Safety Car on track.
Replays show the Russian was gearing up to start a lap and got too greedy putting on the throttle as he rode the apex kerb which looped the Haas into a gentle spin.
It's time for Haas bingo - after Schumacher's early indiscretion in FP1, this time it's Mazepin who has a spin at Turn 15, but continues.
Leclerc has now gone out and is using a set of the white-walled hard compound tyres.
Hamilton has put in his personal best and goes second, on a 1m33.289s.
Stopwatch
Bottas surges to the top of the leaderboard after his first flying lap, a 1m32.880s. It's a full second quicker than Verstappen in second with a 1m33.882s. Somehow we doubt that will be the gap come qualifying though.
It transpires Ocon saw one of his visor tear-offs had become lodged in a brake duct - not a typical problem you see in F1 these days.
As Ocon heads out, the only driver so far yet to leave the pits is Leclerc.
Latifi and Alonso appear to be the only two drivers on the hard tyre at this stage of the session.
Several drivers head out of the pits immediately, the majority on the medium - but Aston Martin buck the trend by sending Vettel and Stroll out on softs.
Green flag
Here we go, FP2 is underway.
It's a big test coming up this afternoon for Valtteri Bottas. He said earlier this week after his non-scores in the last two rounds that he's not letting thoughts about his future beyond his current one-year deal distract him, so could really do with continuing his FP1 form and asserting control over his team-mate. Of course, that's easier said than done when said team-mate is a seven-time world champion...
A reminder there from Williams that after Roy Nissany took over the FW43B for the second time this season in FP1, regular incumbent George Russell will be slotted in for FP2.
Not long to go now until FP2 fun can begin. The weather is - obviously - toasty, with air temps of 27.7 and track temps of 47.3. The Pirelli tyres appear to be set for another workout this weekend...
One driver who particularly impressed in FP1 was Daniel Ricciardo, who seemed to have the edge on team-mate Lando Norris. He'll need a return to form after two tricky weekends on street tracks, but McLaren has no doubt he can produce top form soon - for reasons Jonathan Noble explained in a recent Plus feature: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/why-mclaren-doesnt-doubt-ricciardo-can-escape-his-dark-place/6503326/
It's always tricky to extrapolate the data from a single session in isolation - particularly given the lost running from Sainz after his FP1 spin - but it would truly be a surprise to see the Maranello score a third pole on the trot here, now we're back to 'conventional' permanent racetracks. Leclerc, remember, was 11th earlier on.
In this week's Autosport magazine, Alex Kalinauckas takes an in-depth look at Ferrari's recent resurgence and assess the factors behind its upturn in form. Plus subscribers can now read that piece online here: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/how-ferrari-got-its-f1-recovery-plan-working/6577744/
Breaking news
Over the lunch break, we heard from Alpine boss Laurent Rossi, who clarified there are no exit clauses within Esteban Ocon’s new three-year contract that would allow Mercedes to sign him.
Ocon, of course, came into F1 as a Merc junior and spent 2019 as its reserve driver after losing his seat at Racing Point (now Aston Martin) to Lance Stroll.
Here's the full story: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/alpine-no-mercedes-exit-clauses-in-ocons-new-three-year-f1-deal/6581739/
Ocon, of course, came into F1 as a Merc junior and spent 2019 as its reserve driver after losing his seat at Racing Point (now Aston Martin) to Lance Stroll.
Here's the full story: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/alpine-no-mercedes-exit-clauses-in-ocons-new-three-year-f1-deal/6581739/
Good afternoon - with F3 qualifying now over, we can prepare our build-up for the all-important FP2 session. Mercedes junior Frederik Vesti pipped Red Bull junior Dennis Hauger in F3 - will that be a positive omen for the Brackley team?
Free Practice 2 is scheduled for 2pm BST.
Here's your report summing up all the action from FP1: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1-french-gp-bottas-fastest-from-hamilton-and-verstappen-in-fp1/6581395/
Aston Martin struggled with Vettel damaging his car after finding the barriers. He could only manage P15 behind team-mate Lance Stroll.
Alfa Romeo enjoyed a strong session with Antonio Giovinazzi and Kimi Raikkonen in P12 and P13 respectively.
It proved to be a difficult session for Ferrari with Charles Leclerc only P11, five places ahead of Carlos Sainz Jr in P16 after his spin.
Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri), Lando Norris (McLaren) and Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) round out the top 10.
Esteban Ocon is the best of the rest in fifth as Alpine shine on home soil. Team-mate Fernando Alonso is seventh behind McLaren's Daniel Ricciardo.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen is 0.432s shy of the pace in third with Sergio Perez in fourth.
Its a Mercedes one-two in FP1. Valtteri Bottas fastest with a 1m33.448s on the softs. He is 0.3s faster than team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
Checkered flag
Chequered flag for FP1.
Bottas going for one last flying lap on the hards.
Verstappen runs off the road and fails to rejoin through the bollards.
Ocon is only 0.8s behind pacesetter Bottas.
Ocon underlines Alpine's strong pace to snatch P5 while team-mate Alonso is in P7.
Gasly drops to P7 now as Ricciardo fires in a time to take P5 for McLaren.
Gasly climbs to P6 in the AlphaTauri with an impressive lap on the softs.
Heading into the final 10 minutes now.
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