FP1: Stroll tops first practice as F1 returns to China

Red Bull Racing/Red Bull Content Pool

Aston Martin's Lance Stroll set the fastest time during Friday’s first free practice session for the Chinese Grand Prix, ahead of McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

Check out the results of the Chinese Grand Prix weekend, including the race results, qualifying times, and practice sessions

Back on the F1 calendar after a five-year hiatus, the Shanghai International Circuit is hosting the season’s first Sprint weekend, elevating the importance of FP1. Drivers had just 60 minutes to familiarize themselves with the 5.451km track, featuring a mix of corners.

An early incident saw marshals clear a small grass fire at Turn 7, briefly halting the session. Once resumed, Lewis Hamilton’s close call with Piastri at the final corner led to a black-and-white flag for the Mercedes driver for crossing the pit entry line.

Stroll's late effort on soft tires clocked 1m 36.302s, leading Piastri and Verstappen by three-tenths. Red Bull's Sergio Perez placed fourth, followed by Haas duo Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen. Esteban Ocon's Alpine came seventh.

The top 10 were completed by Alex Albon (Williams), Daniel Ricciardo (RB), and Valtteri Bottas (Kick Sauber). Zhou Guanyu, racing as the first Chinese F1 driver on home soil, placed 11th.

Yuki Tsunoda took 12th for RB, followed by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. Williams’ Logan Sargeant voiced frustrations over a “terrible” push lap. Lando Norris aborted a fast lap attempt, leaving him 16th, followed by George Russell and Hamilton, who set times on hard tires.

Fernando Alonso ended 19th after a pit entry mishap, with Pierre Gasly's Alpine hit with ERS issues bringing up the rear.

Teams will now analyze their data ahead of Sprint qualifying at 1530 local time.

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