Verstappe🅷n ended up comfortably fastest in the first 60-minute FP1 session around the Losail International Circuit with a 1m23.723s to fin🎶ish 0.437s clear of Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri. 

Gasly improved to second with a late improvement to jump ahead of the Mercedes pairing led by Valtteri Bottas, who♍ was nearꦇly half a second adrift in third. 

Lewis Hamilton, who trails Ve✱rstappen by 14 points in the world championship heading into this event, complained of a lack of pow♈er in his Mercedes as he wound up fourth fastest and 0.786s down on his title rival. 

The seven-time world champion’s session was briefly hampered when he picked up front-wing dama♊ge after running wide over the kerbs at the exit of Turn 𝓡15. 

Away from th💝e track action, F1 is still awaiting the stewards’ verdict regarding whether Mercedes’ request for Verstappen’s defensive move on Hamilton should be revisited. 

Yuki Tsunoda was fifth fa🅰stest to ensure both AlphaTauris held positions inside the top five, ahead of the Ferrar🔯i duo of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc in sixth and seventh. 

Eighth place went the way of Sergio Perez, who ended up ov🍌er a second behind his Red Bul♑l teammate. 

Esteban Ocon and Lando Norris completed the top 10 for Alpine and McLaren respectively, with the latter suffering issues♏ late on after a wide moment at Turn 15 triggered an “emergency switch” on his MCL35M. 

FP1 concluded with a late yellow flag caused by a trip through the gravel for Mick Schumacher a🀅fter the Haas driver locked up at Turn 7 as the drivers adapted to the Losail circuit.