Max P7 in Silverstone FP1
Published on 08 July 2016 by Stefan Meens
In the build up to Sunday's British Grand Prix, Max Verstappen clocked the seventh quickest lap in the first free practice. The Dutchman lapped the iconic Silverstone circuit in 1:33.202 on the hard Pirelli compound. Lewis Hamilton was quickest, 1.8 seconds quicker than Max but the reigning world champion set his lap time on the medium tyres.
For Charles Leclerc, FP1 was a special moment. The youngster from Monaco made his Formula 1 debut. He drove the opening session of the weekend for Haas F1. It meant Estaban Guttierez, one of the team's current drivers, had to sit out the first 90 minutes of Friday. The othr driver that missed out on FP1 was Renault's Kevin Magnussen. The Dane's weekend will start during the second Friday session once Esteban Ocon has relinquished driving duties for the French team.
When the lights go out, the usual pattern unfolds with teams opting for an installation lap. Red Bull Racing appears to be the exception, going for a timed lap straight away. Daniel Ricciardo completes his flying lap on the hard Pirellis, Max on the medium compound.
All eyes are on Sebastian Vettel's installation lap. His Ferrari sports a new version of the 'halo'. During the winter tests, Ferrari used a prototype and in Silverstone it opts to run a developed version. Nevertheless, the halo is only on the car for one lap.
Rookie Leclerc is the first driver to go over the limit. He spins but is able to be on his way without damaging the Haas.
After the customary lull in the session, in which the teams have to give back their first set of Pirellis to the tyre supplier, it is both Mercedes that vie for the quickest lap. With Hamilton and Nico Rosberg trading fastest lap, it is not until some of the teams put on the softest compound before the gap between the Mercs and the rest of the field is limited to a second.
In the final third of the session, Max and Ricciardo are lapping the track on different compounds. Max sets his quickest lap of the morning on a set of hards (1:33.202). Daniel Ricciardo is half a second quicker than his Dutch team mate but completes his lap on the medium Pirellis.
At the front, Lewis Hamilton tops the timing sheets, followed by three Germans, Rosberg, Vettel and Nico Hulkenberg. Vettel's sesssion, however, does not end well. The German reports an issue with the power unit and gearbox on the team's radio barely managing to get the car back to the Italian outfit's garage.
British Grand Prix - Silverstone - Friday 8 July
RESULTS FREE PRACTICE 1 01 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:31.654 30 02 6 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:31.687 +0.033s 34 03 27 Nico Hulkenberg Force India Mercedes 1:32.492 +0.838s 30 04 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:32.501 +0.847s 20 05 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer 1:32.773 +1.119s 30 06 7 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:33.039 +1.385s 28 07 33 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer 1:33.202 +1.548s 22 08 11 Sergio Perez Force India Mercedes 1:33.235 +1.581s 30 09 55 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso Ferrari 1:33.446 +1.792s 19 10 14 Fernando Alonso McLaren Honda 1:33.527 +1.873s 22 11 26 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso Ferrari 1:33.738 +2.084s 20 12 22 Jenson Button McLaren Honda 1:34.132 +2.478s 24 13 77 Valtteri Bottas Williams Mercedes 1:34.263 +2.609s 38 14 19 Felipe Massa Williams Mercedes 1:34.456 +2.802s 34 15 8 Romain Grosjean Haas Ferrari 1:34.547 +2.893s 24 16 30 Jolyon Palmer Renault 1:34.787 +3.133s 29 17 12 Felipe Nasr Sauber Ferrari 1:34.805 +3.151s 21 18 50 Charles Leclerc Haas Ferrari 1:35.869 +4.215s 26 19 45 Esteban Ocon Renault 1:35.980 +4.326s 31 20 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber Ferrari 1:36.003 +4.349s 19 21 94 Pascal Wehrlein MRT Mercedes 1:36.136 +4.482s 25 22 88 Rio Haryanto MRT Mercedes 1:36.647 +4.993s 29
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