Max opens Bahrain GP weekend with P3

Published on 14 April 2017 by Stefan Meens

Max Verstappen enjoyed a good start to his Bahrain Grand Prix weekend. In FP1, the Dutchman clocked the third quickest time after completing 23 problem free laps of the Bahrain International Circuit. Sebastian Vettel was fastest in his Ferrari, followed by Daniel Ricciardo in the other Red Bull. The Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas are still to show their true pace, finishing FP1 in tenth and fourteenth.

“It’s only the first session so we’re still sliding our way to a good balance. We still need to find more grip so we have plenty of work ahead”, explained Max. “The track will change a lot in the second free practice session so things will be different. It’ll go dark and the temperatures will drop so we’ll wait and see.”

Red Bull Racing kicks of FP1 by sending out Max with aero-rakes on his RB13 to gather more valuable data regarding the car’s aerodynamic airflow. After two laps on the medium Pirellis tyres, the 19-year-old heads back to the pits to prepare for his first timed laps.

25 minutes into the session, Max heads out on the same set of mediums. This time, his RB13 sports flow viz paint, a yellow paint that highlights the car’s airflow at the front end. After a fife-lap stint, which include his first timed laps, the youngster returns to the team.

On his next run, Max again uses the medium tyres. He is, however, forced to abandon his timed lap when Kimi Raikkonen has come to a stand still in a smoking Ferrari.

With thirty minutes to go, several drivers head out on the soft tyres. Max is one of them and his 1:33.6 pushes him up to third. The youngster continues to show good pace on the softs, ultimately resulting in a 1:33.566, which keeps him in third.

Meanwhile, McLaren’s woes continue with Stoffel Vandoorne forced to park his car track side. McLaren is not the only British team with issues. Felipe Massa in the Williams struggled with brake issues, resulting in a spin in the final part of FP1.

In the closing stages, Max heads out for a final run on the soft Pirellis. He is unable to improve his lap time and therefore opens his Bahrain GP weekend with third place in FP1.

Bahrain Grand Prix - Bahrain International Circuit - Friday 14 April

FREE PRACTICE 1 RESULTS

01  5 Sebastian Vettel    Ferrari                     1:32.697          21
02  3 Daniel Ricciardo    Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer   1:33.097 +0.400s  22
03 33 Max Verstappen      Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer   1:33.566 +0.869s  23
04 11 Sergio Perez        Force India Mercedes        1:34.095 +1.398s  22
05 19 Felipe Massa        Williams Mercedes           1:34.246 +1.549s  24
06 18 Lance Stroll        Williams Mercedes           1:34.322 +1.625s  25
07 31 Esteban Ocon        Force India Mercedes        1:34.332 +1.635s  23
08 14 Fernando Alonso     McLaren Honda               1:34.372 +1.675s  14
09  8 Romain Grosjean     Haas Ferrari                1:34.564 +1.867s  21
10 44 Lewis Hamilton      Mercedes                    1:34.636 +1.939s  28
11 26 Daniil Kvyat        Toro Rosso                  1:34.838 +2.141s  13
12 27 Nico Hulkenberg     Renault                     1:34.927 +2.230s  13
13  2 Stoffel Vandoorne   McLaren Honda               1:34.997 +2.300s  10
14 77 Valtteri Bottas     Mercedes                    1:35.002 +2.305s  27
15 30 Jolyon Palmer       Renault                     1:35.068 +2.371s  19
16 20 Kevin Magnussen     Haas Ferrari                1:35.579 +2.882s  21
17  9 Marcus Ericsson     Sauber Ferrari              1:35.888 +3.191s  24
18 94 Pascal Wehrlein     Sauber Ferrari              1:35.959 +3.262s  23
19 55 Carlos Sainz        Toro Rosso                  1:36.079 +3.382s  16
20  7 Kimi Räikkönen      Ferrari                     1:42.333 +9.636s  6

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