2022 F1 Canadian GP FP1: What did we learn?

The first hour of running for the 2022 F1 Canadian GP is over now. It was all pretty smooth for a session that had a lot of intrigue over the latest regulations introduced by the FIA as well as the event's absence since 2019.

There weren't too many surprises to greet the F1 cars with things that were out of the norm. There wasn't a scenario of the surface being far too abrasive, nor was there one where the cars were bouncing out of their minds.

Max Verstappen led the charts after FP1 for the 2022 F1 Canadian GP with Ferrari's Carlos Sainz giving him close competition. Charles Leclerc was a surprise fifth as he struggled to find his groove in the first session.

So, let's find out what we learned from FP1 of the Canadian GP.

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#1 Red Bull hits the ground running as Ferrari plays catchup

Red Bull had Max Verstappen leading the charts for the team, but more importantly, both cars looked comfortable from the very first run. Compared to Ferrari, the two Red Bull drivers certainly hit the ground running.

Red Bull appeared to hold the edge over Ferrari in the top speed section and hence, the fastest FP1 time belonged to the Austrian squad. It's still early but the picture will become clearer in FP2.

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#2 Aston Martin looks impressive

Sure, there wasn't much on the timesheets, but Aston Martin appears to have unlocked the final piece of the puzzle. Following the main race at Baku, it seemed Aston Martin had made progress in terms of performance and started getting back into contention. As it turns out, the Silverstone-based outfit might not be done just yet and we could see the team making further improvements. A P4 position in the pecking order seems highly likely now.

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#3 Mercedes looks less bouncy (finally!)

Mercedes, on its part, looked surprisingly less bouncy in FP1. Similar to all the other cars trying to behave themselves this weekend, Mercedes too did the same by not running a setup that could potentially be harmful to its drivers.

The W13 looked decent, not as fast as its customary top-3 positions but capable of fighting somewhere in the midfield.

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#4 Alpine is attempting a more conventional wing for 2022 F1 Canadian GP

Alpine had Fernando Alonso on skates once again. The Spaniard finished the session in P3, that too on medium tires. The car did appear to have its power unit turned up.

It will be interesting to see if the Alpine is good enough to compete with the Aston Martin, which does appear to be the best of the rest at the moment.

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#5 Ferrari-engined teams are in a spot of bother

Ferrari-engined teams appear to have hit a roadblock this weekend. With fuel levels, the extent to which the power unit is turned on, and expected power outputs still unknown, it's tough to make predictions about the level where both Alfa Romeo and Haas find themselves.

Both cars have somewhat reaped the benefits of a very competent Ferrari power unit at the start of the season to score valuable points. For now, Kevin Magnussen finishing last on the time sheets does not look good at all. Although it's still early days, Ferrari customers need to get their act together for the 2022 F1 Canadian GP weekend.