Max fourth in Barcelona FP1
Published on 11 May 2018 by Stefan Meens
Max Verstappen opened his Spanish Grand Prix weekend with a fourth place in the first free practice session. Valtteri Bottas was quickest in his Mercedes around the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya, followed by his team mate Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.
When the pit-lane opens, we see the usual flurry of activity as the teams send out their drivers for installation laps. Esteban Ocon (Force India) is the first driver to clock a lap time.
The Verstappen fans have to wait a while as Max makes his first on-track appearance 25 minutes into the session. After half an hour, the virtual safety car is deployed as a result of Daniel Ricciardo parking his RB14 in the wall. The Aston Martin Red Bull Racing driver is caught out by the wind and heads straight at turn 4, resulting in a damaged front wing and suspension.
Two thirds into FP1, the Williams team is struck by trouble. Robert Kubica, who makes his first appearance as an F1 driver in an official session since 2010, spins but is able to resume. His team mate Lance Stroll is not as lucky. The young Canadian beaches his car in the gravel at turn 5 and has to walk back to the pits.
After the clearing of Stroll’s car, Max heads out on the Medium Pirelli tyres. He ends the session with a couple of long stints on that set, whilst continuing to improve his lap time, in the end resulting in P4.
Results first free practice Spain:
| pos | driver | team | time | gap | laps | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valtteri Bottas | BOT | Mercedes | 1:18.148 | 32 | |
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton | HAM | Mercedes | 1:18.997 | +0.849s | 22 |
| 3 | Sebastian Vettel | VET | Ferrari | 1:19.098 | +0.950s | 24 |
| 4 | Max Verstappen | VER | Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer | 1:19.187 | +1.039s | 26 |
| 5 | Kimi Räikkönen | RAI | Ferrari | 1:19.499 | +1.351s | 19 |
| 6 | Fernando Alonso | ALO | McLaren Renault | 1:19.858 | +1.710s | 26 |
| 7 | Daniel Ricciardo | RIC | Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer | 1:19.871 | +1.723s | 11 |
| 8 | Romain Grosjean | GRO | Haas Ferrari | 1:19.906 | +1.758s | 24 |
| 9 | Stoffel Vandoorne | VAN | McLaren Renault | 1:20.083 | +1.935s | 28 |
| 10 | Pierre Gasly | GAS | Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda | 1:20.508 | +2.360s | 29 |
| 11 | Kevin Magnussen | MAG | Haas Ferrari | 1:20.637 | +2.489s | 28 |
| 12 | Charles Leclerc | LEC | Sauber Ferrari | 1:20.665 | +2.517s | 23 |
| 13 | Sergio Perez | PER | Force India Mercedes | 1:20.924 | +2.776s | 36 |
| 14 | Marcus Ericsson | ERI | Sauber Ferrari | 1:20.984 | +2.836s | 18 |
| 15 | Carlos Sainz | SAI | Renault | 1:21.053 | +2.905s | 28 |
| 16 | Esteban Ocon | OCO | Force India Mercedes | 1:21.144 | +2.996s | 27 |
| 17 | Nico Hulkenberg | HUL | Renault | 1:21.159 | +3.011s | 26 |
| 18 | Brendon Hartley | HAR | Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda | 1:21.373 | +3.225s | 28 |
| 19 | Robert Kubica | HAR | Williams Mercedes | 1:21.510 | +3.362s | 24 |
| 20 | Lance Stroll | STR | Williams Mercedes | 1:22.756 | +4.608s | 15 |
