Bahrain GP: Free Practice #1 - RE-CAP & TIMES

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

    Daniel Ricciardo topped the times in a mixed free practice session for Red Bull ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix.

    The Australian’s best lap, set late in the session, was 0.3s faster than the Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas. It came just over an hour after team-mate Max Verstappen had fallen to a stop with a lack of power at the very start of free practice.

    Verstappen had managed his first install lap but lost acceleration on his second. He was pushed into the pits where the team diagnosed an electrical failure, and didn’t make it back out for the remainder of the session.

    Things looked to be equally difficult for Ricciardo, who spent most of the session in the pits. But the number 3 RB14 left its garage with 20 minutes on the clock and immediately jumped to the top of the order with a 1m31.060s lap around the Bahrain International Circuit.

    The Mercedes duo of Bottas and Lewis Hamilton enjoyed strong running early in the session, with Hamilton leading Bottas after the first 45 minutes.

    After a short break, both emerged for the second half of practice with fresh soft tyres but a mistake on his first flying lap meant Hamilton failed to improve on his best time.

    He later found two tenths of a second, but it was only enough to put him fifth fastest.

    Bottas claimed second, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel.

    Romain Grosjean in the Haas claimed best of the rest, followed by Pierre Gasly and Carlos Sainz, who had told his engineer the car was “an absolute mess” early in the session.

    Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg completed the top 10.

    Most drivers managed to stay out of trouble, though Lance Stroll and Charles Leclerc both suffered spins at the same corner early in the session. Despite the problem, Leclerc managed to put his Sauber 12th quickest, splitting the two McLarens.

TIMES:

1. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:31.060 / Red Bull Racing-TAG-Heuer / Australia
2. Valtteri Bottas - 1:31.364 / Mercedes-Mercedes / Finland
3. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:31.458 / Ferrari-Ferrari / Finland
4. Sebastian Vettel - 1:31.470 / Ferrari-Ferrari / Germany
5. Lewis Hamilton - 1:32.272 / Mercedes-Mercedes / Great Britain
6. Romain Grosjean - 1:32.516 / Haas-Ferrari / France
7. Pierre Gasly - 1:32.779 / Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda / France
8. Carlos Sainz - 1:32.885 / Renault-Renault / Spain
9. Kevin Magnussen - 1:32.971 / Haas-Ferrari / Denmark
10. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:33.104 / Renault-Renault / Germany
11. Fernando Alonso - 1:33.223 / McLaren-Renault / Spain
12. Charles Leclerc - 1:33.278 / Sauber-Ferrari / Monaco
13. Stoffel Vandoorne - 1:33.379 / McLaren-Renault / Belgium
14. Lance Stroll - 1:33.379 / Williams-Mercedes / Canada
15. Sergey Sirotkin - 1:33.467 / Williams-Mercedes / Russia
16. Brendon Hartley - 1:33.497 / Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda / New Zealand
17. Marcus Ericsson - 1:33.508 / Sauber-Ferrari / Sweden
18. Sergio Perez – 1:33.662 / Force India-Mercedes / Mexico
19. Esteban Ocon – 1:33.794 Force India-Mercedes / France
20. Max Verstappen – NO TIME SET / Red Bull Racing-TAG-Heuer / Netherlands

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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring
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