Let's not forget Ferrari is in a fierce battle with Mercedes for second in the constructors' standings with just four points separating the teams. Could this crash result in another grid penalty for Sainz and again hamper Ferrari's bid?
This red flag further reduces the time available for teams and drivers to get running in representative conditions. The 10 rookies avoided any major slip-ups earlier but it's taken just nine minutes for one of the regulars to be in strife here.
But that time is soon bettered by Verstappen, although only by the relatively modest margin of 0.4s! All times so far set on the mediums, except for Bottas who has braved the hards.
Everyone has now left the pits with the exception of Sargeant - who was guilty of blocking Doohan during that session. The American was given a reprimand for his actions.
Hulkenberg in the Haas is the first one to immediately head out - and he was one of the drivers who stepped aside earlier, with Oliver Bearman taking his place.
While this is a conventional race weekend, one story to emerge since FP1 concerns the sprint races. More format changes are planned for next year, although exactly what they will be, nobody knows. So far, all the F1 Commission has been able to agree on is that change is needed. Here are the (limited) details:
Right, less than five minutes until things are due to get back under way - and, in the least surprising news of today, there's a 0% risk of rain expected in this session!
But, with plenty of cars sporting a whole raft of aerodynamic devices earlier, now more useful mileage can take place. Can Ferrari continue its resurgence and challenge Red Bull again or will Verstappen be back in control? We should get some clues in the next hour or so.
There were no major errors from any of the 10 'young' drivers and 2022 F2 champion Felipe Drugovich was the most impressive, ending up second for Aston Martin, while Robert Shwartzman almost matched the time of Ferrari stablemate Carlos Sainz.
FP1's running earlier was unrepresentative in warmer conditions and, in case you missed it, here's a round-up of what happened with George Russell topping the times for Mercedes, while 10 rookie drivers substituted for race regulars:
It's just over 10 minutes until second practice is due to begin - and this is the important one as it represents the conditions the drivers should face in qualifying and the race.
And with that, it's time for us to take a break before returning for FP2. Until then, here is the full FP1 session report - just in case you missed anything.
Only Haas will know its exact run plan, but it is unlikely that Magnussen will be best pleased to have been the only regular-season driver in the bottom eight positions, finishing FP1 P19 with Sargeant the next lowest, in P11.
This incident between Stroll and Hadjar has finally been shown, with the Aston Martin driver dawdling on the racing line into the Turn 6 braking zone. Hadjar was forced to use the runoff in avoidance.
All 20 drivers are on the track with one minute remaining. Time for one final push lap for the rookie drivers before calling time on their F1 experience for the weekend.
Hadjar goes as slow as you like through the final sector, briefly causing the yellow flags to be shown due to his pace. Now, he fires his Red Bull onto a flying lap.
