Max fourth in Austin FP1: "A positive start"
Published on 20 October 2017 by Stefan Meens
Max Verstappen clocked the fourth fastest time in the opening session of the US Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton was quickest ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and his Mercedes team mate, Valtteri Bottas.
“It was an interesting session because of the wet track”, Max said to Verstapppen.nl. “It felt good, but it’s difficult to judge what our real pace is because the track continued to dry. At the end, during the long run, it felt all good. We still have to see how quick we are in the short runs, but it was a positive start.”
Just before the session starts, Red Bull Racing announce that Max has extended his contract with the Milton Keynes based squad until 2020.
On the topic of Red Bull, its sister team Scuderia Toro Rosso has some old, but new faces in their garage this weekend. Ex-Red Bull Junior Brendon Hardley, World Endurance Champion with Porsche, is making his official Formula 1 debut, filling in for Pierre Gasly. The Frenchman is competing in a Super Formula event in Japan.
In the other Toro Rosso, Daniel Kvyat has to wait until FP2 before returning to F1 as Sean Gelael has once again taken over driving duties. Meanwhile, Ferrari junior Charles Leclerc drives the Sauber in the first practice session before Marcus Ericsson takes over for the remainder of the weekend.
At the start of the session, the track is still damp so all the drivers opt for the intermediates. Apart from minor spins by Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull Racing), Sean Gelael and Esteban Ocon (Force India), most driver navigate to slippery conditions well.
As the track keeps drying, slicks make their appearance. Sebastian Vettel is the first to venture out. Soon, the rest of the drivers follow and the times tumble.
In the final fifteen minutes, it starts to rain lightly. It means there are no time improvements, resulting in Hamilton quickest ahead of Vettel, Bottas and Max.
US Grand Prix - Circuit Of The Americas - Friday 20 October
FREE PRACTICE 1 RESULTS: 01 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:36.335 18 02 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:36.928 +0.593s 20 03 77 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:36.979 +0.644s 10 04 33 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer 1:37.339 +1.004s 21 05 2 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren Honda 1:37.352 +1.017s 26 06 19 Felipe Massa Williams Mercedes 1:37.570 +1.235s 23 07 7 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:37.598 +1.263s 20 08 31 Esteban Ocon Force India Mercedes 1:37.808 +1.473s 25 09 11 Sergio Perez Force India Mercedes 1:37.861 +1.526s 20 10 55 Carlos Sainz Renault 1:38.093 +1.758s 24 11 20 Kevin Magnussen Haas Ferrari 1:38.408 +2.073s 16 12 18 Lance Stroll Williams Mercedes 1:38.534 +2.199s 25 13 27 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1:38.904 +2.569s 19 14 39 Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso 1:39.267 +2.932s 28 15 8 Romain Grosjean Haas Ferrari 1:39.336 +3.001s 17 16 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer 1:39.366 +3.031s 14 17 38 Sean Gelael Toro Rosso 1:40.406 +4.071s 25 18 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber Ferrari 1:40.448 +4.113s 19 19 37 Charles Leclerc Sauber Ferrari 1:40.828 +4.493s 25 20 14 Fernando Alonso McLaren Honda 4
