Austrian GP: Free Practice #1 - Re-Cap & Times

AUSTRIAN GP - FREE PRACTICE #1 - RE-CAP & TIMES

    It was Lewis Hamilton who charged to the top spot on the time sheets in the first practice session of the weekend. The Mercedes driver set a 1:05.975. Max Verstappen finished in 2nd, just behind Hamilton, with a 1:06.165. Bottas, Vettel and Ricciardo rounded out the top 5.

    A few changes among the grid with Alfonso Celis Jr., filling in for Sergio Perez at Force India and Sergey Sirotkin taking over for Hulkenberg at Renault. Both young drivers are looking to eventually secure an F1 drive in the future and it is rumoured that if Renault decides not to renew Palmer's contract, that Sirotkin is the top choice to get his seat.

    Lance Stroll reported feeling some vibrations during the session but still managed to get a few decent lap times in. He finished in 15th with a 1:08.041, just a few places down from his team-mate, Massa, who put in a slightly quicker 1:07.550 to secure 11th.

    Max Verstappen sustained some damage to his Red Bull after spinning out and hitting the barriers during the session and he wasn't the only driver to take a spin either. Multiple cars were seen spinning and taking trips through the gravel traps. Some had to reverse and others were easily able to steer their cars back onto the track. 

TIMES:

1. Lewis Hamilton - 1:05.975 / Mercedes-Mercedes / Great Britain

2. Max Verstappen - 1:06.165 / Red Bull-TAG-Heuer / Netherlands
3. Valtteri Bottas - 1:06.345 / Mercedes-Mercedes / Finland
4. Sebastian Vettel - 1:06.424 / Ferrari-Ferrari / Germany
5. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:06.620 / Red Bull-TAG-Heuer / Australia
6. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:06.848 / Ferrari-Ferrari / Finland
7. Stoffel Vandoorne - 1:07.283 / McLaren-Honda / Belgium
8. Daniil Kvyat - 1:07.437 / Toro Rosso-Renault / Russia
9. Fernando Alonso - 1:07.510 / McLaren-Honda / Spain
10. Esteban Ocon - 1:07.511 / Force India-Mercedes / France
11. Felipe Massa - 1:07.550 / Williams-Mercedes / Brazil
12. Kevin Magnussen - 1:07.594 / Haas-Ferrari / Denmark
13. Carlos Sainz - 1:07.633 / Toro Rosso-Renault / Spain
14. Jolyon Palmer - 1:07.649 / Renault-Renault / Great Britain
15. Lance Stroll - 1:08.041 / Williams-Mercedes / Canada
16. Romain Grosjean - 1:08.074 / Haas-Ferrari / France
17. Sergey Sirotkin - 1:08.586 / Renault-Renault / Russia*
18. Alfonso Celis Jr. - 1:09.280 / Force India-Mercedes / Mexico*
19. Pascal Wehrlein - 1:09.323 / Sauber-Ferrari / Germany
20. Marcuss Ericsson - 1:10.853 / Sauber-Ferrari / Sweden

* - Notes Sirotkin and Celis Jr. are driving in FP1 only.

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Article Written By: Amy Hawk
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