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F1 French GP qualifying - Start time, how to watch & more

The 12th round of the 2022 F1 season kicked off on Friday with two one-hour long practice sessions run under scorching conditions at Paul Ricard.

In the opening session, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc edged out championship leader Max Verstappen by 0.091 seconds to seal top spot as the Scuderia - along with a number of its rivals - debuted updated cars.

Ferrari continued to lead the way in the afternoon session, with Leclerc's team-mate Sainz setting the pace by 0.101s from the Monegasque driver.

Sainz will face a 10-place grid penalty for the race, however, after the control electronics in his Ferrari was changed following his fiery exit from the Austrian Grand Prix two weeks ago.

Verstappen completed the top three at the end of FP2, with Mercedes duo George Russell and Lewis Hamilton fourth and fifth.

Hamilton gave way to reigning Formula E champion Nyck de Vries in FP1 on Friday, and admitted after returning to his car in FP2 that the Mercedes was "not spectacular" and slower than expected at Paul Ricard.

Lando Norris was a solid sixth for McLaren as he seeks performance from new parts, with home hero AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly seventh, Kevin Magnussen eighth, Daniel Ricciardo ninth and Sergio Perez rounding out the top 10.

Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri AT03 (Photo by: Alastair Staley / Motorsport Images)

What time does qualifying start for the F1 French Grand Prix?

Qualifying for the French GP starts at 4pm local time (3pm BST), using the regular Q1, Q2 and Q3 knockout session format.

Date: Saturday 23rd July 2022

Start time: 4pm local time – 3pm BST

How can I watch Formula 1?

In the United Kingdom, Formula 1 is broadcast live on Sky Sports, with highlights shown on Channel 4 several hours after the race has finished. Live streaming through NOW is also available in the UK.

Sky Sports F1, which broadcasts the F1 races, can be added as part of the Sky Sports channels, which costs £20 a month for new customers. Sky Sports can also be accessed through NOW with a one-off day payment of £11.98 or a month membership of £33.99 per month.

How can I watch F1 French GP qualifying?

In the United Kingdom, every F1 practice, qualifying and race is broadcast live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event, with French GP qualifying coverage starting at 2:35pm BST.

Channel: Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event

Start time: 2:35pm BST 23rd July 2022

Autosport will be running a live text coverage of qualifying here

Nyck de Vries, Mercedes W13 (Photo by: Alastair Staley / Motorsport Images)

When can I watch the highlights of F1 French GP qualifying?

In the United Kingdom, Channel 4 is broadcasting highlights of qualifying for the French GP at 6:30pm BST on Saturday. The full programme will run for 90 minutes, covering both qualifying and wrapping up the major talking points of the race weekend so far.

For the entire 2022 F1 season, Channel 4 will broadcast highlights of every qualifying and race of each event. The highlights will also be available on Channel 4’s on demand catch-up services.

Channel: Channel 4

Start time: 6:30pm BST 23rd July 2022

Will F1 French GP qualifying be on the radio?

Live radio coverage of every practice, qualifying and race for the 2022 F1 season will be available on BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC 5 Live Sports Extra or via the BBC Sport website.

Coverage of French GP qualifying will start at 3:00pm BST on the BBC Sport website and the BBC Sounds app.

What's the weather forecast for qualifying at Circuit Paul Ricard?

Hot and sunny weather is forecast for Saturday afternoon for the start of qualifying at Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet, with a low chance of rain showers. The temperature is set to be 32 degrees Celsius at the start of qualifying, 11 degrees warmer than the Austrian GP sprint race last time out.

FP2 result:

Cla Driver Chassis Laps Time Gap
1 Spain Carlos Sainz Ferrari 22 1'32.527  
2 Monaco Charles Leclerc Ferrari 22 1'32.628 0.101
3 Netherlands Max Verstappen Red Bull 17 1'33.077 0.550
4 United Kingdom George Russell Mercedes 20 1'33.291 0.764
5 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 23 1'33.517 0.990
6 United Kingdom Lando Norris McLaren 21 1'33.607 1.080
7 France Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri 24 1'33.906 1.379
8 Denmark Kevin Magnussen Haas 24 1'33.928 1.401
9 Australia Daniel Ricciardo McLaren 23 1'33.984 1.457
10 Mexico Sergio Perez Red Bull 16 1'34.060 1.533
11 Spain Fernando Alonso Alpine 24 1'34.259 1.732
12 Finland Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 27 1'34.264 1.737
13 Germany Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin 27 1'34.420 1.893
14 Japan Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 24 1'34.540 2.013
15 Canada Lance Stroll Aston Martin 26 1'34.595 2.068
16 Thailand Alex Albon Williams 23 1'34.653 2.126
17 China Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 26 1'34.654 2.127
18 France Esteban Ocon Alpine 26 1'34.660 2.133
19 Germany Mick Schumacher Haas 22 1'35.195 2.668
20 Canada Nicholas Latifi Williams 27 1'35.412 2.885

FP1 result:

Cla Driver Chassis Laps Time Gap
1 Monaco Charles Leclerc Ferrari 23 1'33.930  
2 Netherlands Max Verstappen Red Bull 19 1'34.021 0.091
3 Spain Carlos Sainz Ferrari 21 1'34.268 0.338
4 United Kingdom George Russell Mercedes 25 1'34.881 0.951
5 France Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri 21 1'34.979 1.049
6 Mexico Sergio Perez Red Bull 21 1'35.174 1.244
7 United Kingdom Lando Norris McLaren 21 1'35.232 1.302
8 Thailand Alex Albon Williams 24 1'35.414 1.484
9 Netherlands Nyck de Vries Mercedes 23 1'35.426 1.496
10 Australia Daniel Ricciardo McLaren 21 1'35.660 1.730
11 China Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 21 1'35.676 1.746
12 Canada Lance Stroll Aston Martin 19 1'35.810 1.880
13 France Esteban Ocon Alpine 21 1'35.828 1.898
14 Germany Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin 24 1'35.851 1.921
15 Spain Fernando Alonso Alpine 22 1'35.875 1.945
16 Germany Mick Schumacher Haas 19 1'36.022 2.092
17 Denmark Kevin Magnussen Haas 22 1'36.104 2.174
18 Japan Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 26 1'36.127 2.197
19 Poland Robert Kubica Alfa Romeo 19 1'36.332 2.402
20 Canada Nicholas Latifi Williams 23 1'37.043 3.113
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