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

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

    Sebastian Vettel topped the times in the first free practice session ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix. The Ferrari driver’s 1m29.166s lap time was two tenths of a second faster than Lewis Hamilton, who claimed second.

    Hamilton was fastest early in the session on super-soft tyres, but a time for Vettel on the harder “soft” compound of tyres put the Ferrari second, only half a tenth of a second behind Hamilton. With the pace expected increase on the softer compounds, it was clear Ferrari’s initial pace was better than Mercedes.

    But it was still the Mercedes driver on top when the session was interrupted with half an hour remaining. Carlos Sainz span at the exit of the hairpin, hitting the barriers heavily before bouncing back into the track. The Spaniard climbed out of the car unaided but his Toro Rosso was severely damaged.

    During the red flag that followed, a light rain began to fall. It was in the drizzle when the green flags returned that Vettel set his fastest time of the day. As the rain grew heavier, Hamilton couldn’t answer.

    Behind them, Daniel Ricciardo took third quickest, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen, Valtteri Bottas, and Max Verstappen.

    Esteban Ocon finished the morning seventh, six tenths of a second quicker than team-mate Sergio Perez, who put himself 13th.

    Nico Hulkenberg and Romain Grosjean followed in eighth and ninth.

    Stoffel Vandoorne rounded out the top 10 with a lap time just three hundredths of a second faster than Fernando Alonso in 12th.

    Kevin Magnussen, who finished 11th fastest, spent the majority of the session in the pits with a water pressure problem. Mechanics thought they had solved the problem and sent the Haas driver out briefly before calling him back to the pits, the problem returning. His time after only 15 laps was two tenths of a second slower than Grosjean’s.

    Lance Stroll, Jolyon Palmer, and Felipe Massa were 13th, 14th, and 15th respectively ahead of the Toro Rosso duo. Despite his crash, Sainz was able to beat new team-mate Pierre Gasly around a track the Frenchman is relatively familiar with.

    Pascal Wehrlein beat Marcus Ericsson at the bottom of the order.

TIMES:

1. Sebastian Vettel - 1:29.166 / Ferrari-Ferrari / Germany
2. Lewis Hamilton - 1:29.377 / Mercedes-Mercedes / Great Britain
3. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:29.541 / Red Bull-TAG-Heuer / Australia
4. Kimi Raikkonen – 1:29.638 / Ferrari-Ferrari / Finland
5. Valtteri Bottas - 1:30.151 / Mercedes-Mercedes / Finland
6. Max Verstappen - 1:30.762 / Red Bull-TAG-Heuer / Netherlands
7. Esteban Ocon - 1:30.899 / Force India-Mercedes / France
8. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:30.974 / Renault-Renault / Germany
9. Romain Grosjean - 1:31.032 / Haas-Ferrari / France
10. Stoffel Vandoorne - 1:31.202 / McLaren-Honda / Belgium
11. Kevin Magnussen - 1:31.216 / Haas-Ferrari / Denmark
12. Fernando Alonso - 1:31.235 / McLaren-Honda / Spain
13. Sergio Perez - 1:31.530 / Force India-Mercedes / Mexico
14. Lance Stroll - 1:31.602 / Williams-Mercedes / Canada
15. Jolyon Palmer - 1:31.757 / Renault-Renault / Great Britain
16. Felipe Massa – 1:31.912 / Williams-Mercedes / Brazil
17. Carlos Sainz - 1:32.252 / Toro Rosso-Renault / Spain
18. Pierre Gasly - 1:32.501 / Toro Rosso-Renault / France
19. Pascal Wehrlein - 1:32.897 / Sauber-Ferrari / Germany
20. Marcus Ericsson - 1:33.397 / Sauber-Ferrari / Sweden

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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring
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