Max third in Abu Dhabi FP1: "We're close to the front"

Published on 24 November 2017 by Stefan Meens

Max Verstappen started his final Grand Prix weekend of the season with third place in the first free practice session. The Red Bull Racing ace was only a tenth of the time clocked by pace setter Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari). Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton was second quickest.

“The first training went pretty well”, explained Max to Verstappen,nl. “We tried a lot of things, particularly at the front of the car. I wasn’t totally pleased with that, but in general the balance of the car was good. At the moment we’re close to the front. Hopefully the car behaves the same when the sun goes down.”

Max kicks off his weekend with an installation lap on the super-softs. Twenty minutes into the session, the Dutchman returns on track on the same set of tyres for his first proper attempt at a timed lap.

With the session past the hour mark, Max switches to the softest compound available. After a five-lap stint, he splits the two Mercs to propel him into third.

Apart from a couple of drivers spinning and Romain Grosjean sliding his Haas F1 backwards into the tyres, FP1 marks an uneventful start to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Yas Marina Circuit - Friday 24 November

FREE PRACTICE 1 RESULTS

01  5 Sebastian Vettel    Ferrari                     1:39.006          22
02 44 Lewis Hamilton      Mercedes                    1:39.126 +0.120s  24
03 33 Max Verstappen      Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer   1:39.154 +0.148s  15
04  7 Kimi Raikkonen      Ferrari                     1:39.518 +0.512s  21
05 77 Valtteri Bottas     Mercedes                    1:39.741 +0.735s  29
06 11 Sergio Perez        Force India Mercedes        1:40.293 +1.287s  23
07 14 Fernando Alonso     McLaren Honda               1:40.522 +1.516s  19
08  2 Stoffel Vandoorne   McLaren Honda               1:40.569 +1.563s  14
09 19 Felipe Massa        Williams Mercedes           1:40.723 +1.717s  26
10  3 Daniel Ricciardo    Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer   1:40.773 +1.767s  28
11 35 George Russell      Force India Mercedes        1:41.131 +2.125s  26
12  8 Romain Grosjean     Haas Ferrari                1:41.306 +2.300s  23
13 18 Lance Stroll        Williams Mercedes           1:41.581 +2.575s  26
14 10 Pierre Gasly        Toro Rosso                  1:41.646 +2.640s  28
15 55 Carlos Sainz        Renault                     1:41.748 +2.742s  23
16 94 Pascal Wehrlein     Sauber Ferrari              1:41.752 +2.746s  25
17 27 Nico Hulkenberg     Renault                     1:41.864 +2.858s  25
18 50 Antonio Giovinazzi  Haas Ferrari                1:42.065 +3.059s  20
19  9 Marcus Ericsson     Sauber Ferrari              1:42.344 +3.338s  27
20 28 Brendon Hartley     Toro Rosso                  1:42.585 +3.579s  34

Abu Dhabi GP contest: win a Max Verstappen/Red Bull Racing jacket