Max tops heavily disrupted FP1

Published on 07 April 2017 by Stefan Meens

Max Verstappen topped the opening session of the Chinese Grand Prix. In a heavily disrupted session, the Dutchman only lapped the Shanghai International circuit four times but managed to set the quickest lap, ahead of the two Williams of Felipe Massa and Lance Stroll.

At the start of the session the track is soaked, despite the earlier rain having stopped. As rain is predicted for Sunday’s race, most drivers head out on the wet weather Pirellis to get a feel for the conditions.

A couple of minutes into the session, it is red flagged; there is not enough visibility for the medical helicopter to fly to hospital. So far ten drivers have completed an installation lap.

After forty-five minutes, the drivers are allowed on track. In the meantime, the session’s clock has been running, meaning the drivers face a drastically reduced FP1. Kevin Magnussen is the first to head out, this time on intermediates. His Haas team mate Romain Grosjean joins his Danish colleague. Both drivers spin off the track in these tricky conditions but are able to continue without damage.

A few minutes later, Max heads out. His first flying lap top the leaderboards, before posting a quicker time a lap later. At the same time, several drivers are going off track – albeit without any significant incidents. Nico Hulkenberg is the unfortunate exception. The German beaches his Renault in the gravel, prompting a Virtual Safety Car.

Moments later, the second red flag is waved. Once again it is limited visibility that prevents the medical helicopter from being able to fly to the nearby hospital if required. With the rain becoming stronger, the FIA decides FP1 will not be restarted, leaving Max topping the session.

Chinese Grand Prix - Shanghai International Circuit - Friday 7 April

FREE PRACTICE 1 RESULTS

01 33 Max Verstappen      Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer   1:50.491           4
02 19 Felipe Massa        Williams Mercedes           1:52.086  +1.595s  7
03 18 Lance Stroll        Williams Mercedes           1:52.507  +2.016s  7
04 55 Carlos Sainz        Toro Rosso                  1:52.840  +2.349s  5
05  8 Romain Grosjean     Haas Ferrari                1:53.039  +2.548s  6
06 26 Daniil Kvyat        Toro Rosso                  1:53.314  +2.823s  4
07 14 Fernando Alonso     McLaren Honda               1:53.520  +3.029s  5
08  3 Daniel Ricciardo    Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer   1:54.038  +3.547s  7
09 77 Valtteri Bottas     Mercedes                    1:54.664  +4.173s  4
10 20 Kevin Magnussen     Haas Ferrari                1:55.104  +4.613s  8
11 27 Nico Hulkenberg     Renault                     1:55.608  +5.117s  6
12  2 Stoffel Vandoorne   McLaren Honda               1:57.445  +6.954s  4
13  9 Marcus Ericsson     Sauber Ferrari              2:15.138 +24.647s  4
14 36 Antonio Giovinazzi  Sauber Ferrari              2:15.281 +24.790s  4
15 30 Jolyon Palmer       Renault                                        3
16  5 Sebastian Vettel    Ferrari                                        2
17  7 Kimi Räikkönen      Ferrari                                        1
18 31 Esteban Ocon        Force India Mercedes                           2
19 11 Sergio Perez        Force India Mercedes                           3
20 44 Lewis Hamilton      Mercedes                                       2 

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