Norris draws first blood against Piastri and Verstappen at COTA

After long stints on the hards, the final positions were decided during the last ten minutes of FP1. It was the Brit who set the fastest time with a 1:33.294, finishing ahead Nico Hulkenberg and Oscar Piastri. The Australian finished 0.279 seconds off his teammate ahead of Sprint Qualifying.

Max Verstappen set the fifth quickest time, and was around three and a half tenths slower than the McLaren driver.

With a new contract secured, George Russell finished seventh, right in front of Lewis Hamilton.

There was a single red flag in FP1, caused by debris coming off Lance Stroll's Aston Martin.

As there was only a single free practice session this weekend, most drivers and teams were eager to head out on track as soon as the lights turned green in the pit lane. All cars started the session on hard tyres.

Ten minutes into the session, Carlos Sainz topped the times with a 1:36.130, ahead of Verstappen and his teammate Alex Albon. Shortly after, Norris moved to the top of the timesheets, setting a lap just quicker than that of his former teammate, Sainz.

Early in the session, the penultimate corner caught out several drivers — Verstappen ran wide over the kerb, while Isack Hadjar went off track due to traffic ahead.

As the session progressed, drivers continued to improve on the hard tyres. With around 40 minutes remaining, Lewis Hamilton moved into first place with a 1:34.8.

Soon after, it was Stroll who caused the first red flag of the weekend. Debris flew of the Aston Martin after the Canadian driver went wide also in the penultimate corner.

The session could continue soon after, but not for Sainz. The Williams had driver had gearbox issues as the only free practice session prematurely ended for him.

Esteban Ocon also ran off into the gravel after reporting that his brakes were stuck at 100% following the back straight. The Haas driver was, however, able to safely return to the pit lane.

With 20 minutes to go, drivers were still setting laps on the hard tyres. Hamilton remained in the lead with his 1:34.8 ahead of Norris and Verstappen.

Drivers began fitting the soft and medium tyres heading into the final 10 seconds, getting ready for Sprint Qualifying later today. Leclerc had trouble setting a lap, as he smelled oil. The Monegasque driver also made a mistake on his lap.

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