Leclerc tops FP1 by less than a tenth suggesting close French GP weekend

Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen traded P1 times in the first free practice session in what could be a sign of things to come during the French Grand Prix weekend. Ferrari and Red Bull seem incredibly closely matched, but it was Leclerc who finished on top by less than one-tenth of a second. Sainz also finished ahead of Perez. It's important to note that Verstappen made a mistake in sector three on his hottest lap. 

Lewis Hamilton didn't take part in the first free practice session. Mercedes opted to use this weekend as one of their mandatory rookie appearances of the season and therefore Dutchman Nyck de Vries got to spend 60 minutes on the circuit alongside George Russell. De Vries and another replacement in Robert Kubica were the first drivers onto the circuit in the session. 

Mercedes didn't get as close as they suggested, but perhaps they have more to come as the weekend unfolds. There was a place in the top five for Pierre Gasly in his home event. Carlos Sainz rounded out the top three, with Russell finishing fourth fastest but one second behind the quickest time. 

Problems for the front runners? 

Two weeks on from his throttle issue in Austria, Leclerc reported some issues regarding turbo and recharge. The man from Monaco didn't make it entirely clear and drove very slowly around the track in the subsequent lap. But Ferrari left him out on track for a push lap. That lap featured yellow flags as Sergio Perez spun his Red Bull around in sector one. He avoided the walls and carried on, though the flat spots on his tyres didn't make it easy. 

On Verstappen's first major push lap, he suffered massive oversteer and ran across the kerbs in sector three. Still, the reigning World Champion set the fastest time on this lap because of his purple times in sectors one and two. Verstappen's sidepods were spotted with tape as a part had failed late in the 60 minutes. 

McLaren, the team with more upgrades than anyone else, didn't have the best of sessions. On a hot lap, Ricciardo ran really wide and locked up his tyres suggesting the balance wasn't quite right. Norris also found himself in the bottom half of the standings for much of the hour though they did advance during the final runs. In the same constructors fight, Alpine didn't manage to breach the top ten for the chequered flag. Haas also seem to be struggling to rediscover the form they found in Austria. 

Nicholas Latifi finished at the bottom of the standings, but Alex Albon provided some delight for Williams fans finishing inside the top ten.