Formula 1

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was fastest during Spanish Grand Prix practice in Barcelona on Friday, the sixth round of the 2022 Formula 1 World Championship.

Sainz and Alex Albon (Williams) had a spat after Turn 1, which stewards will investigate after the session. Sebastian Vettel was the first to set a time on softs in his updated Aston Martin, which has been the talk of the paddock today, setting the bar at 1m20.703s. That was soon beaten by Verstappen on 1m20.006s. Teams ran medium tyres at the beginning of this session, with Verstappen leading the way on 1m20.932s, 0.046s ahead of Sainz and 0.063s quicker than Leclerc – the latter suffering a scruffy end to his lap. Russell was best of the rest for Mercedes, lapping 0.762s off the pace on 1m20.590s. He later had a big moment when he came across the second Red Bull, driven for the first time in FP1 by F2 racer Juri Vips. After early running on the hard tyres, Sainz set the bar on softs at 1m19.907s. That looked set to be toppled by Verstappen, who set the fastest first two sectors when he came across a huge amount of traffic towards the end of the lap. Leclerc was quickest in both FP1 and FP2, ahead of Mercedes duo George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, his Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz and Red Bull’s reigning world champion Max Verstappen across the two one-hour sessions.

Mercedes went from F1 practice leader to its natural position in the Miami race, but it has reason to believe it's closer at the Spanish GP.

In reality, Fernando Alonso’s Alpine was the most consistently quick of the group – and the controversially updated Aston Martin with its Red Bull-like bodywork looked significantly more competitive than the previous version. 1m26.398s (9 laps) Nonetheless, Mercedes has real cause for optimism. “The tyres are going to pieces,” he radioed in just eight laps into his run. With its new floor, the W13 still needs fine-tuning into its sweet spot, but both drivers feel that’s perfectly feasible. Unfortunately for Russell, the Ferrari was circulating not far ahead of him and its tyre difficulties, therefore, had an impact on Russell’s average too. Verstappen did by far the most convincing long run, with a super-consistent and pretty long sequence on the medium tyres. “The car’s definitely reacting differently,” said Russell. “We don’t have the porpoising on the straight but we have it in some of the corners here and there which ultimately you need to dial out. “It’s the first time we’ve driven down the straight without bouncing. But both Hamilton and Russell were competitive in both measures. There is genuinely a sense that Mercedes may be on the road to Formula 1 recovery. Their judgements proved accurate over the following two days.

Red Bull are neither down nor out after a challenging opening day in Spain, but Max Verstappen said they have plenty of work to do to fight Ferrari in ...

“The long run, I think I was able to get a read in it. Because it’s not a track where the tyre stays new, you basically have one lap to have a read on the balance and then after that you’re just getting up to speed, but you don’t have really the peak grip. “We clearly still have a bit of work to do over one lap but long runs – at least they look quite decent, so I’m happy with that, just to try and find the middle way.

Results from the second practice session at the F1 Spanish Grand Prix, Round 6 of the 2022 Formula 1 world championship.

2022 F1 Spanish Grand Prix - FREE PRACTICE RESULTS (2) F1 2022 Spanish Grand Prix - Free Practice Results (2) Results from the second practice session at the F1 Spanish Grand Prix, Round 6 of the 2022 Formula 1 world championship.

Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix is Sunday; Mercedes improving, Red Bull takes shot at Aston Martin.

Mercedes has front wing and floor edge tweaks as it strives to cure the bouncing that has plagued its progress. It involved CAD checks and a detailed analysis of Aston Martin’s development processes, and the FIA concluded that no wrongdoing had been committed, approving the compliance of the new package. So yeah, starting to eke into a bit of the potential in our car.” “Hopefully it will be good ones and enough to be in front of Red Bull again,” said Leclerc on the updates. It means it is a circuit that can produce more reliable feedback and data on new components, particularly with three street-based circuits (Monaco, Baku, Montreal) next up on the schedule. The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is a known quantity, given its extensive use as a pre-season test venue, and has a layout that assesses most areas of a car.

The drivers and teams report back on all the action from the opening day at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, for the Formula 1 Pirelli Gran Premio de ...

As I said this morning, I think there’s still a lot of potential in our car right now, so the upgrades from other teams have to work in the first place to be able to better and that’s not always the case. Every driver does enough laps around here that we know the circuit like the back of our hands, so it was a good session to miss in that respect. “It was nothing too out of the ordinary, I think the pace seemed to be okay in both low-fuel and high-fuel. Still, the car I drove in Imola was probably the best car I drove in my career in terms of feeling and simplicity of driving. Only one session for me today, so there’s a big margin of improvement for tomorrow: I think I am still finding the limit of the car, as well as of myself, and I think that tonight we will be able to analyse all the data we collected today and come up with an even better set-up for tomorrow. I was pleased to see I could get on the pace quickly and that the feeling I had with the car was back to what I had in 2020. We'll be running in the simulator in Brackley tonight, trying to find a bit more time in the car but at least we have a good platform to base this on and hopefully we can find a little bit more to carry into tomorrow." The soft tyres have the most grip, but also have higher degradation compared to the Mediums and Hards, so we need to review the best choice for Sunday, which is expected to be the hottest day of the weekend. There’s a lot of things we need to improve tonight and then after FP3 tomorrow we can look to see what’s achievable for us in Qualifying. We’re not too far from the top 10 so we just need to go away, focus on ourselves and hopefully we’ll be in Q3 tomorrow.” There’s a lot of analysis to do this evening – but hopefully we’re in good shape for qualifying and the race." As for Ricciardo, he has the older spec parts on his car this weekend, and was waylaid in the garage for much of FP2. Coming out for his soft trye run quite late, he wasn’t able to find much pace and wound up a lowly P15. You learn a lot driving, as a junior driver travelling to races with the Team you get to hear the drivers’ feedback but to feel first hand how the car feels is useful for me but also useful for the work I do on the simulator.”

George Russell (2nd, 1:19.787): "In Miami we were quickest on Friday, here we're second but the car is definitely reacting differently.

As I said this morning, I think there's still a lot of potential in our car right now, so the upgrades from other teams have to work in the first place to be able to better and that's not always the case. Only one session for me today, so there's a big margin of improvement for tomorrow: I think I am still finding the limit of the car, as well as of myself, and I think that tonight we will be able to analyse all the data we collected today and come up with an even better set-up for tomorrow. I think in FP1 especially it was extremely out of the window and it felt like I was driving a completely different car, but for the long-term learning for the team it's important, especially at a track like this where we know how the car should feel. Still, the car I drove in Imola was probably the best car I drove in my career in terms of feeling and simplicity of driving. The positive from the day is that the one lap I had on medium tyres was really good, the car felt well-balanced so we have a good starting point to work on. We've got a lot of work to do for tomorrow if we're aiming for Q3 in Qualifying, but I think it's possible, we've still got another practice session to make changes to the car and extract the most from this package. We'll be running in the simulator in Brackley tonight, trying to find a bit more time in the car but at least we have a good platform to base this on and hopefully we can find a little bit more to carry into tomorrow." The soft tyres have the most grip, but also have higher degradation compared to the Mediums and Hards, so we need to review the best choice for Sunday, which is expected to be the hottest day of the weekend. On track, we're not as quick as we'd like to be, so our focus tonight is to look over the data to see what we can improve going into Saturday. We can see already that tyre degradation will be a challenge this weekend. There's a lot of things we need to improve tonight and then after FP3 tomorrow we can look to see what's achievable for us in Qualifying. We're not too far from the top 10 so we just need to go away, focus on ourselves and hopefully we'll be in Q3 tomorrow." There's a lot of analysis to do this evening – but hopefully we're in good shape for qualifying and the race." You learn a lot driving, as a junior driver travelling to races with the Team you get to hear the drivers' feedback but to feel first hand how the car feels is useful for me but also useful for the work I do on the simulator."

Formula 1 returns to where the 2022 era began with several teams expected to arrive with major upgrades.

- George Russell has been the only driver to finish in the top five at each race this season. - Upgrades! Ferrari is expected to bring several upgrades, including a new floor to improve their porpoising issue. Hamilton has won at the track a total of six times, including the last five in a row. Max Verstappen (85) maintained his record of winning every race he has finished and in doing so has cut Charles Leclerc’s (104) lead to just 19 points. With an average viewership of 2.6 million the 2022 Miami GP became the highest-rated live F1 race in US television history (and second all-time behind a 2002 tape-delayed Monaco GP on ABC). With that benchmark, familiarity with the track, and its proximity to most teams' home operations in Europe, at least half the grid is expected to bring major updates this weekend.

The FIA has cleared Aston Martin after carrying out an investigation into the similarities between its updated Formula 1 car and Red Bull's car ahead of the ...

A spokesperson from Aston Martin said: “We have shared details of our update with the FIA technical people. “The investigation, which involved CAD checks and a detailed analysis of the development process adopted by Aston Martin, confirmed that no wrongdoing had been committed, and therefore the FIA considers that the Aston Martin aerodynamic upgrades are compliant,” the statement from the FIA reads. The FIA clamped down on reverse engineering car designs in the wake of the Pink Mercedes case, and revealed in Barcelona on Friday that it did look into the updated Aston Martin car.

Formula One opened the European leg of the season in sweltering temperatures with an appropriately heated and fractious atmosphere in the paddock.

Following a raft of upgrades to the floor of the car, the team appeared to enjoy a decrease in the porpoising that has plagued them this season. We showed them the data and they found themselves with their hands tied because they had already issued the penalty. Fernando Alonso launched a scathing attack on the FIA, the sport’s governing body, for which he faces a potential punishment, while Red Bull in turn expressed scorn and disbelief at Aston Martin, who were accused of copying the design of their car. At the end of last year, two senior aerodynamicists, Dan Fallows and Andrew Alessi, left Red Bull to join Aston Martin and the Red Bull Team principal, Christian Horner, noted his “grave concern” that Red Bull’s intellectual property may have been compromised. But Red Bull were unwilling to let the matter lie. The Spaniard was given a five-second penalty at the last round in Miami for cutting a chicane – dropping the Alpine driver from a points-scoring position.

Fernando Alonso has explosively accused the Formula 1 stewards at the recent Miami Grand Prix of “incompetence” and sees no improvement in the ...

“And I don’t think that knowledge is in place at the moment. “We just need to keep improving that. And I think that will already improve things. “So, it was very bad and honestly… They were not even in the room. I think Freitas has a lot more experience with WEC and with other categories at the top level.

Chants of 'Fernando' and 'Carlos' rang out at a bustling Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Friday, as an impressive crowd – keen for success from one of ...

On track, it looked like a good improvement, with Sebastian Vettel – one of only two drivers to achieve his ideal lap, to suggest he felt comfortable with the car – saying he thinks they are heading in the right direction. Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris were reasonably happy – though Norris was frustrated to have made a mistake by damaging the car and limiting his running to just six laps in FP2. Points should be the minimum expectation for both teams this weekend. Alpine and McLaren look set to battle it out for best of the rest despite enjoying contrasting fortunes in Friday practice. Championship leader Charles Leclerc said the high fuel performance “looks difficult” and they have a lot of work to do overnight. While fresh power units for both would have given them a few extra horses, it was the lack of bouncing that would have helped here. Mercedes brought a few upgrades to Spain, headlined by a revised floor – and the early signs are incredibly positive.

Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso made a blistering criticism of Formula 1's current stewarding standards, accusing those running the sport of ...

He was given a five-second penalty for a collision with Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly and another similar one for cutting the chicane in the closing laps. “We came there, we showed them all the data. “So, it was very bad. Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton claimed in Miami that this focus on a ‘bling ban’ was “almost a step backwards” when the sport had “bigger fish to fry”. It’s already in the past but it is something that should not happen in F1 with professionals and the standards that Formula One has right now.” “I think Freitas has a lot more experience with the World Endurance Championship, and other categories at the top level, and I think that will improve things.”

Fernando Alonso has questioned the professionalism and competence of the stewards in Formula 1 after being handed what he felt was an unfair penalty in the ...

"We saw a couple of things already [in 2022] that proves we still need to improve a lot," Alonso said. They were not very professional, I think, in Miami. "They were not very professional, I think, in Miami.

“The FIA carried out a routine pre-event legality check of the planned aerodynamic upgrade of the Aston Martin team for the 2022 FIA Formula 1 Spanish Grand ...

“Over the winter we had two philosophies that we developed,” he said. “So a big thank you to everyone. “Both teams collaborated fully with the FIA in this investigation and provided all the relevant information.

Charles Leclerc headed the Mercedes pair of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton during the qualifying simulations in second practice ahead of Formula 1's 2022 ...

Pierre Gasly was the first driver to miss out on the top 10, the AlphaTauri pipping the Haas of Kevin Magnussen and Lance Stroll. A puff of smoke from the rear was matched by the engine seeming to die promptly as Bottas pulled up on the edge of the track at the exit of Turn 1. Verstappen had been the first driver to set a fairly representative lap time on medium rubber as he and Sainz dropped below the 1m21s threshold ahead of Leclerc and the Mercedes. Hamilton was a late adopter of the soft tyre and ran particularly well in the final part of the second sector to land the third-fastest effort - albeit a further 0.09s shy of his team-mate. Alexander Albon, Mick Schumacher, both Aston Martins and Esteban Ocon were the first drivers to hit the track in FP2 as the field stuck initially to the medium and hard compound tyre. The Ferrari driver and pre-event championship leader picked up his form from FP1 by also running to the top in the second of the hour-long Friday practice sessions at Barcelona.

Formula 1 heads back to Europe with the 2022 Spanish Grand Prix. Here's what you need to know about this weekend's F1 race.

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Dan Marcus analyzes this week's Formula 1 race in Spain where Max Verstappen will look to continue his winning streak.

That could change due to the new regulations and could be the source of value in both DFS and betting contexts. As discussed in the introduction, I like Aston Martin as a team to potentially push two cars into the top 10 for the weekend, and it doesn't seem to be getting much respect. To get a bit contrary, consider mixing up the constructor. Heading into the Spanish Grand Prix, Aston Martin will look to insert itself into the conversation, as it has tallied points in each of the last two races. However, we've seen DRS trains spoil some of the racing in the midfield at both Imola and Miami, so there remains some lack of clarity as to how effective the overhaul in rules has been. Max Verstappen has suddenly won three of five races, finishing atop the podium each of the last two races.

Charles Leclerc headed the Mercedes pair of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton during the qualifying simulations in second practice ahead of Formula 1's 2022 ...

Pierre Gasly was the first driver to miss out on the top 10, the AlphaTauri pipping the Haas of Kevin Magnussen and Lance Stroll. A puff of smoke from the rear was matched by the engine seeming to die promptly as Bottas pulled up on the edge of the track at the exit of Turn 1. Verstappen had been the first driver to set a fairly representative lap time on medium rubber as he and Sainz dropped below the 1m21s threshold ahead of Leclerc and the Mercedes. Hamilton was a late adopter of the soft tyre and ran particularly well in the final part of the second sector to land the third-fastest effort - albeit a further 0.09s shy of his teammate. Alexander Albon, Mick Schumacher, both Aston Martins and Esteban Ocon were the first drivers to hit the track in FP2 as the field stuck initially to the medium and hard compound tyre. The Ferrari driver and pre-event championship leader picked up his form from FP1 by also running to the top in the second of the hour-long Friday practice sessions at Barcelona.

Aston Martin has denied suggestions that it got hold of illegal Red Bull data to help it with its Spanish Grand Prix Formula 1 upgrades.

And I think that was confirmation of that.” “They have come in and looked and then declared that it’s all legitimate independent work. But I think that just reinforced our feeling at the time that, of the two paths that that we had open to us, we'd gone the wrong way. So I think the accusations are very wide of the mark.” “All I can say is that at no stage did we ever receive any data from any team or anyone. “It's not just Dan Fallows,” Marko told Sky Germany. “There is evidence that data was downloaded.

Results from the final practice session at the F1 Spanish Grand Prix, Round 6 of the 2022 Formula 1 world championship.

2022 F1 Spanish Grand Prix - FREE PRACTICE RESULTS (3) F1 2022 Spanish Grand Prix - Free Practice Results (3) Results from the final practice session at the F1 Spanish Grand Prix, Round 6 of the 2022 Formula 1 world championship.

Live coverage of Saturday's Formula 1 qualifying session for the 2022 Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.

Ferrari takes pole once again, with championship contenders riddled through the first three rows.

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SportsLine analyzed the starting grid and made its best bets for the F1 Pirelli Spanish GP 2022 race at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Mercedes has been working diligently to improve its cars after a highly disappointing start to the 2022 F1 season, and with Red Bull leader Christian Horner recently went on record predicting a return to contention for the reigning Formula 1 Constructor champions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the complete projected 2022 Spanish GP leaderboard. The latest stop on the Formula 1 schedule is Montmeló, Catalonia, Spain for the 2022 Spanish GP at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The race is scheduled for Sunday, May 22, with F1 legend Lewis Hamilton entering the event as the five-time defending champion.

Toto Wolff believes his Mercedes Formula 1 team can finally start catching up to Red Bull and Ferrari after solving its car's crippling porpoising issues.

"It's an aerodynamic effect that's created from the floor swinging and it was difficult to come to that conclusion in a scientific way. And that's great." Mercedes endured a nightmare start to the ground-effect era with a car that suffered from wild porpoising, which forced the team to run its car higher than it wanted.

PART ONE - TEAM REPRESENTATIVES Andrew GREEN (Aston Martin), Dave ROBSON (Williams), Laurent MEKIES (Ferrari) PART TWO - TEAM REPRESENTATIVES Jody EGGINTON ...

I think we just have to be honest with ourselves as a team and say I don't think that's the reason we've struggled, I think we've struggled with the bouncing and that has sort of held us back. I think more to the point is we've just got to get on top of our issues and get the car moving in the right direction, and hopefully we’ve made a good step this weekend. I mean, it's impossible to know, I think, if you look at the way the regulations are policed aerodynamically, we have to take a photo of the model every run that happens so the FIA can go back and look at all the photos of every run that's been done in the tunnel, they can go and look at all the CFD models that have run, so they can see exactly what that development path looks like. I think relative to Red Bull, it's not very much, it's sort of a run a week, something of that order so it's fairly small, but then we don't have very many runs a week in the tunnel to start with. We have on our side now to check if we didn't have any IP leak, that is a is a main asset of the team. So sort of to pick up what you said, I am more confident that's less of a flash in the pan than it was in Miami. And to compare to a dataset you gathered here in pre-season testing. But I think we also look quite quick on Friday in Miami. So I think we wait to see where we are in qualifying and the race and then we will know. And that as a group of engineers, as a brand in general, you would like to design something of your own and to evolve something of your own. In the first early years, we need to be very careful to make sure we reach, as early as possible, the right level of enforcement and the right level of definition. And this is why, in that early phase, we all need to be very careful to have the necessary flexibility, to make sure we still have a fair regulations, we still have a fair playing field for everybody. Now, like I said at the top of the interview, we planned for this from a very early stage, to be able to do this this type of dual approach, and it does lead to a lot of management. But partly what we've been doing during the season is trying to understand how much of that is down to choices we've made, and we could genuinely have made different choices – and therefore there is scope to improve it reasonably easily, and how much of that is a feature of the regulation set.