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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.

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Results first free practice Spain:

posdriverteamtimelaps
1Valtteri BottasBOTMercedes1:18.148
2Lewis HamiltonHAMMercedes1:18.997+0.849s
3Sebastian VettelVETFerrari1:19.098+0.950s
4Max VerstappenVERRed Bull Racing TAG Heuer1:19.187+1.039s
5Kimi RäikkönenRAIFerrari1:19.499+1.351s
6Fernando AlonsoALOMcLaren Renault1:19.858+1.710s
7Daniel RicciardoRICRed Bull Racing TAG Heuer1:19.871+1.723s
8Romain GrosjeanGROHaas Ferrari1:19.906+1.758s
9Stoffel VandoorneVANMcLaren Renault1:20.083+1.935s
10Pierre GaslyGASScuderia Toro Rosso Honda1:20.508+2.360s
11Kevin MagnussenMAGHaas Ferrari1:20.637+2.489s
12Charles LeclercLECSauber Ferrari1:20.665+2.517s
13Sergio PerezPERForce India Mercedes1:20.924+2.776s
14Marcus EricssonERISauber Ferrari1:20.984+2.836s
15Carlos SainzSAIRenault1:21.053+2.905s
16Esteban OconOCOForce India Mercedes1:21.144+2.996s
17Nico HulkenbergHULRenault1:21.159+3.011s
18Brendon HartleyHARScuderia Toro Rosso Honda1:21.373+3.225s
19Robert KubicaHARWilliams Mercedes1:21.510+3.362s
20Lance StrollSTRWilliams Mercedes1:22.756+4.608s