FP1: Hamilton leads Bottas, Leclerc third
Mercedes drivers Hamilton and Bottas did exactly as expected by topping the first practice session at Circuit Paul Ricard, France. The duo were tightly matched and kept Charles Leclerc in the closest Ferrari at nearly 4 tenths.
As Mercedes had already expected that the French circuit would suit their car better than Canada, seeing them top the timesheet wasn't really any news.
The news involved the tyres, as many drivers found out the softs wore pretty quickly. Because of that wear, many drivers also found themselves spinning off the track, including Gasly, Verstappen and Kvyat as they trialed a new Honda power unit.
None of them ended up with car damage, but Grosjean was perhaps worst off, as he first struggled to get to grips with his car, before having to end the session early due to a water leak on his Haas VF-19.
Results
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Car | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:32.738 | - | 21 |
| 2 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1:32.807 | +0.069s | 20 |
| 3 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:33.111 | +0.373s | 21 |
| 4 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda | 1:33.618 | +0.880s | 20 |
| 5 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:33.790 | +1.052s | 22 |
| 6 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Red Bull Racing Honda | 1:34.091 | +1.353s | 20 |
| 7 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Renault | 1:34.110 | +1.372s | 23 |
| 8 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | McLaren Renault | 1:34.261 | +1.523s | 26 |
| 9 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | 1:34.540 | +1.802s | 18 |
| 10 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda | 1:34.804 | +2.066s | 25 |
| 11 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Racing Point Bwt Mercedes | 1:34.809 | +2.071s | 21 |
| 12 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 1:34.810 | +2.072s | 25 |
| 13 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point Bwt Mercedes | 1:35.063 | +2.325s | 22 |
| 14 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda | 1:35.326 | +2.588s | 24 |
| 15 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari | 1:35.410 | +2.672s | 19 |
| 16 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari | 1:35.522 | +2.784s | 22 |
| 17 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari | 1:36.102 | +3.364s | 22 |
| 18 | 40 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams Mercedes | 1:37.147 | +4.409s | 25 |
| 19 | 88 | Robert Kubica | Williams Mercedes | 1:37.172 | +4.434s | 27 |
| 20 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas Ferrari | 1:37.620 | +4.882s | 9 |
