A surprise performance from Pierre Gasly saw the Frenchman put his Alpine fastest, 0.007s quicker than McLaren’s Lando Norris and 0.070s better than Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari.
Oscar Piastri was fourth fastest in the second McLaren, barely a tenth off the outright pace.
Liam Lawson ended the session with the 11th fastest time, 0.668s away from the outright pace and one place behind Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda.
Unusually, both Racing Bulls drivers were delayed by mid-session rear wing changes.
Jack Doohan was also in the pack, with the 16th fastest time in his first F1 appearance at the ultra-fast circuit.
The practice hour ran without incident, a handful of pinched brakes and harmless brushes with the wall the sum of the action, none of which drew so much as a yellow flag.
Take the short survey.
| Pos | Num | Driver | Team | Laps | Diff | Best |
| 1 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine – Renault | 24 | 1:29.239s | |
| 2 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren – Mercedes | 24 | 0.007s | 1:29.246s |
| 3 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 27 | 0.070s | 1:29.309s |
| 4 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren – Mercedes | 24 | 0.102s | 1:29.341s |
| 5 | 23 | Alex Albon | Williams – Mercedes | 22 | 0.367s | 1:29.606s |
| 6 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 20 | 0.379s | 1:29.618s |
| 7 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Williams – Mercedes | 25 | 0.540s | 1:29.779s |
| 8 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 26 | 0.576s | 1:29.815s |
| 9 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull – Honda | 25 | 0.579s | 1:29.818s |
| 10 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull – Honda | 25 | 0.582s | 1:29.821s |
| 11 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls – Honda | 17 | 0.668s | 1:29.907s |
| 12 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber – Ferrari | 24 | 0.677s | 1:29.916s |
| 13 | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 23 | 0.695s | 1:29.934s |
| 14 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin – Mercedes | 23 | 0.737s | 1:29.976s |
| 15 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls – Honda | 14 | 0.772s | 1:30.011s |
| 16 | 7 | Jack Doohan | Alpine – Renault | 24 | 0.944s | 1:30.183s |
| 17 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin – Mercedes | 22 | 1.344s | 1:30.583s |
| 18 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas – Ferrari | 20 | 1.356s | 1:30.595s |
| 19 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas – Ferrari | 20 | 1.790s | 1:31.029s |
| 20 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Sauber – Ferrari | 22 | 1.799s | 1:31.038s |
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