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Max seventh in Paul Ricard FP1

Published on 22 June 2018 by Stefan Meens

Max Verstappen opened his French Grand Prix weekend with a seventh place in the opening practice session at the Paul Ricard circuit. The Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas were quickest, with the former leading his Finnish team mate. Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo completed the top three.

Max opens the session with a five-lap reconnaissance stint on the Pirelli soft compound, before switching to the ultra-softs for a second run. It is not all plain sailing for Max. He has to take evasive action to avoid a Scuderia Toro Rosso and is forced wide.

A similar situation happens in the Dutchman’s third run. Again on the ultra-softs, Max is caught by surprise by a Renault leaving the pits. Apart from a minor scare, the youngster and his team can complete their scheduled running, eventually leading to being seventh fastest at the end of FP1.

With three minutes to go, the session is ended prematurely. Marcus Ericsson has crashed into the barriers at turn eleven with the Sauber spitting flames. Luckily the Swede escapes unharmed, unlike his car, which is heavily damaged.

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Results first free practice France:

posdriverteamtimelaps
1Lewis HamiltonHAMMercedes1:32.231
2Valtteri BottasBOTMercedes1:32.371+0.140s
3Daniel RicciardoRICRed Bull Racing TAG Heuer1:32.527+0.296s
4Kimi RäikkönenRAIFerrari1:33.003+0.772s
5Sebastian VettelVETFerrari1:33.172+0.941s
6Romain GrosjeanGROHaas Ferrari1:33.318+1.087s
7Max VerstappenVERRed Bull Racing TAG Heuer1:33.331+1.100s
8Pierre GaslyGASScuderia Toro Rosso Honda1:33.685+1.454s
9Sergio PerezPERForce India Mercedes1:33.719+1.488s
10Kevin MagnussenMAGHaas Ferrari1:34.108+1.877s
11Carlos SainzSAIRenault1:34.258+2.027s
12Esteban OconOCOForce India Mercedes1:34.484+2.253s
13Charles LeclercLECSauber Ferrari1:34.513+2.282s
14Marcus EricssonERISauber Ferrari1:34.592+2.361s
15Brendon HartleyHARScuderia Toro Rosso Honda1:34.664+2.433s
16Fernando AlonsoALOMcLaren Renault1:34.862+2.631s
17Lance StrollSTRWilliams Mercedes1:34.881+2.650s
18Nico HulkenbergHULRenault1:34.993+2.762s
19Stoffel VandoorneVANMcLaren Renault1:35.021+2.790s
20Sergey SirotkinSIRWilliams Mercedes1:35.105+2.874s