WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED
WHAT WE LEARNED
Ferrari were thefastest in both free practice sessions today, with Carlos Sainz leading TL1 and Charles Leclerc the fastest in TL2. On both occasions, they used the P Zero Red soft tire.
Today's conditions were dry and warm: only slightly cooler than last weekend in France. However, tomorrow will be very different, with heavy rain expected for both TL3 and qualifying.
All three compounds were used extensively today, mainly the soft tire in both sessions. Second fastest in TL2 was McLaren's Lando Norris - with his teammate Daniel Ricciardo fifth in the session to complete a strong afternoon for the team.
Currently, there is an estimated gap of about 0s9 between the hard White P Zero and the medium Yellow P Zero, and about 0s6 between the medium and soft. The latter gap in particular will evolve according to track temperatures, with cooler conditions favoring the soft.
Mario Isola, sports director:
Formula 2
DAMS driver Ayumu Iwasa took his first victory in France a week ago and scored his first pole position today in the final minutes of Formula 2 qualifying. Using the P Zero Red soft tire (named alongside the P Zero Yellow medium this weekend), Iwasa was fastest by almost 0s4, with the rest of the pack very close behind.
Formula 3
Only the P Zero Yellow medium tire is used this weekend in Formula 3, with drivers facing high track temperatures during the 30-minute qualifying session, which came to a final sprint after a red flag was interrupted. MP Motorsport driver Alexander Smolyar took his first pole of the 2022 season, having also won pole at Hungaroring two years ago.