The one-hour FP1 session at Barcelona took place in boiling temperatures and clear skies – just under 30°C air temperature and nearly 50°C track temperature, which continued to climb throughout the session.
After Mercedes Formula E driver, and 2021 world champion in the electric series, Nyck de Vries, had set the first-place benchmark time at 1m27.438s, Verstappen soon moved into the slot – deposing his fellow Dutchman after Carlos Sainz and Pierre Gasly had done likewise.
