Interlagos FP1: Max fourth fastest

Published on 10 November 2017 by Stefan Meens

Max Verstappen clocked the fourth quickest time in the opening practice session of the Brazilian Grand Prix. He completed 31 laps, his quickest timed at 1:09.750. The Dutchman was half a second of fastest man Lewis Hamilton. His Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas was second, ahead of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen.

At the start of the session we see a new face in the paddock; George Russel, the newly crowned GP3 champion will drive Sergio Perez’ Force India in FP1. Another feeder series champion, GP2 star Charles Leclerc, is on Sauber driver duty in the weekend opener.

Max Verstappen is quick out of the blocks, clocking some fast lap on the super soft Pirelli tyres.

Fifteen minutes into the session, a Virtual Safety Car phase occurs after Brendan Hartley’s Scuderia Toro Rosso produces a lot of smoke. Once the car is pushed of track and the circuit is clear, Sebastian Vettel spins in turn 9, but is able to continue without any issues.

Throughout the session, which proves uneventful, Max is constantly in the top six. In the end, he sets the fourth quickest time, despite complaining to the team about a lack of grip. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton finishes FP1 quickest.

Brazilian GP - Autódromo José Carlos Pace - Friday 10 November

FREE PRACTICE 1 RESULTS

01 44 Lewis Hamilton      Mercedes                    1:09.202          36
02 77 Valtteri Bottas     Mercedes                    1:09.329 +0.127s  43
03  7 Kimi Raikkonen      Ferrari                     1:09.744 +0.542s  32
04 33 Max Verstappen      Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer   1:09.750 +0.548s  31
05  3 Daniel Ricciardo    Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer   1:09.828 +0.626s  38
06  5 Sebastian Vettel    Ferrari                     1:09.984 +0.782s  32
07 19 Felipe Massa        Williams Mercedes           1:10.102 +0.900s  28
08  2 Stoffel Vandoorne   McLaren Honda               1:10.402 +1.200s  26
09 31 Esteban Ocon        Force India Mercedes        1:10.454 +1.252s  36
10 14 Fernando Alonso     McLaren Honda               1:10.476 +1.274s  24
11 18 Lance Stroll        Williams Mercedes           1:10.632 +1.430s  42
12 35 George Russell      Force India Mercedes        1:11.047 +1.845s  29
13  8 Romain Grosjean     Haas Ferrari                1:11.188 +1.986s  29
14 20 Kevin Magnussen     Haas Ferrari                1:11.463 +2.261s  30
15 55 Carlos Sainz        Renault                     1:11.467 +2.265s  32
16 27 Nico Hulkenberg     Renault                     1:11.608 +2.406s  35
17 37 Charles Leclerc     Sauber Ferrari              1:11.802 +2.600s  32
18  9 Marcus Ericsson     Sauber Ferrari              1:11.898 +2.696s  28
19 10 Pierre Gasly        Toro Rosso                  1:14.034 +4.832s  5
20 28 Brendon Hartley     Toro Rosso                                    2

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