Max third in Sochi FP1
Published on 24 September 2021 by Stefan Meens
Max Verstappen finished the opening practice session of the Russian Grand Prix in third place. Valtteri Bottas was quickest in Sochi, with Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton in second.
Twelve minutes into the session, Max heads out for his first lap of the Sochi Autodrom. His first flying lap, completed on the soft Pirelli compound, grants him P4. A couple of laps later, the Dutchman follows up with the quickest time of the session thus far.
After a quick visit to the pits, Max returns to the track on the same set of softs he started the session. He betters his lap time but is soon toppled by Valtteri Bottas.
With fifteen minutes to go, Max once again heads out on a set of the soft Pirellis to set his best lap of the morning. Nevertheless, the Mercedes remain at the top of the timing sheets. In the closing stages, the lap times are no longer bettered as the teams shift their focus on long runs.
Contest Russian GP: win a 1:43 scale model Max Verstappen RB12 Japan!
Results first free practice Russia:
| pos | driver | team | time | laps | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valtteri Bottas | BOT | Mercedes | 1:34.427 | |
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton | HAM | Mercedes | 1:34.638 | +0.211s |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | VER | Red Bull Racing Honda | 1:34.654 | +0.227s |
| 4 | Charles Leclerc | LEC | Ferrari | 1:35.117 | +0.690s |
| 5 | Sebastian Vettel | VET | Aston Martin Mercedes | 1:35.781 | +1.354s |
| 6 | Pierre Gasly | GAS | AlphaTauri Honda | 1:35.794 | +1.367s |
| 7 | Carlos Sainz | SAI | Ferrari | 1:35.811 | +1.384s |
| 8 | Lando Norris | NOR | McLaren Mercedes | 1:35.959 | +1.532s |
| 9 | Sergio Perez | PER | Red Bull Racing Honda | 1:36.188 | +1.761s |
| 10 | Fernando Alonso | ALO | Alpine Renault | 1:36.225 | +1.798s |
| 11 | Esteban Ocon | OCO | Alpine Renault | 1:36.236 | +1.809s |
| 12 | Lance Stroll | STR | Aston Martin Mercedes | 1:36.522 | +2.095s |
| 13 | Antonio Giovinazzi | GIO | Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari | 1:36.795 | +2.368s |
| 14 | Daniel Ricciardo | RIC | McLaren Mercedes | 1:36.877 | +2.450s |
| 15 | Kimi Räikkönen | RAI | Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari | 1:36.952 | +2.525s |
| 16 | Yuki Tsunoda | TSU | AlphaTauri Honda | 1:37.794 | +3.367s |
| 17 | George Russell | RUS | Williams Mercedes | 1:38.013 | +3.586s |
| 18 | Nicholas Latifi | LAT | Williams Mercedes | 1:38.155 | +3.728s |
| 19 | Nikita Mazepin | MAZ | Haas Ferrari | 1:38.586 | +4.159s |
| 20 | Mick Schumacher | MSC | Haas Ferrari | 1:38.977 | +4.550s |
