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Leclerc recorded a best time of 1:23.008s to be 0.173s clear of his teammate at the end of a 60-minute session run in warm and sunny conditions. Mercedes duo George Russell and Kimi Antonelli were third and fifth, split by Liam Lawson who is again subbing for the injured Isack Hadjer at Red Bull. The Ferrari drivers set their times on the medium tyres, opting not to run the softs that the following trio used to record their best efforts. It’s an ominous start to the weekend for Ferrari’s rivals as the Scuderia unleashes an upgraded engine in line with F1’s AUDO allowances. Lando Norris (McLaren), Arvid Linblad (Racing Bulls), Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) filled sixth through eighth, while Alpine duo Franco Colapinto and Paul Aron rounded out the top 10. Aron was one of four substituting for star drivers in the session as teams continue to tick off the requirement to blood rookies four times during the season. The Estonian raised the ire of Yuki Tsunoda midway through the hitout as he baulked the Racing Bulls stand-in by weaving on the straight while preparing to start a lap. Fellow rookies Luke Browning (in Alex Albon’s Williams) and Ayumu Iwasa (aboard Max Verstappen’s Red Bull) were 15th and 16th respectively. Browning survived multiple hairy moments at the first chicane to out-pace Williams teammate Carlos Sainz, albeit with the latter not having run the soft rubber. The hard luck story was Colton Herta, whose time in Sergio Perez’s Cadillac lasted just 18 minutes before stopping on track with a suspected hydraulic fault. That brought out a Virtual Safety Car and eventually the red flags while the Cadillac was retrieved. It added to a difficult morning for the American, who had earlier crashed in Formula 2 practice. Oscar Piastri had a quiet start to his weekend in 11th fastest, 1.176s shy of pacesetter Leclerc despite running the soft rubber. A second 60-minute session is set to round out the Friday action. Results to follow