Russia – Free Practice 1: Charles Leclerc and Ferrari Fast, Verstappen on the Prowl
Charles Leclerc finished the first free practice session of the 2019 Russian Grand Prix on top, ahead of Max Verstappen and his teammate Sebastian Vettel. The prancing horse team confirms its good form at the moment.
The Monegasque driver, winner of two of the last three Grand Prix and second in Singapore, was 82 thousandths faster than the Red Bull of Max Verstappen, who received a five-place grid penalty for an engine change.
Sebastian Vettel, who returned to victory five days ago in Singapore, recorded the third-fastest time of the session.
Following are the silver arrows of Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton, positioned in fourth and fifth place, seven and nine tenths respectively.
From the start of the session, almost all the drivers are out to complete an initial installation lap on a dry track. Only Vettel, Leclerc, Russell, Hamilton, and Bottas remain in their boxes.
Lance Stroll sets the fastest time of the weekend with 1’43”328, while his teammate Sergio Pérez follows suit with a lap of 1’40”862. The two Racing Point drivers are the only ones to have set benchmark times during the first 20 minutes.
We have to wait 30 minutes before the session finally comes to life. Indeed, the yellow flag is waved as Daniil Kvyat has stopped in a runoff area due to an engine problem. The Virtual Safety Car is then deployed to prevent any danger.
After a 30-minute session, it was the winner of the 2017 edition, Valterri Bottas, who set the fastest time with 1’36”174. This time would be improved by his garage neighbor Lewis Hamilton, with 1’36”031.
Note the nice harmless spin by Giovinazzi who managed to continue.
As usual, after 40 minutes of running, the teams return the extra set of tires provided by Pirelli for the start of the first practice session, and no one is on track anymore.
To this was added a yellow flag, with an official coming out to collect debris on the track and thus secure the circuit.
Charles Leclerc sets a benchmark at 1’34”462, which he will maintain until the end of the session, ahead of Max Verstappen, who manages to improve his time and slot in between the two Ferraris.
Botas cannot complete his final fast lap due to a failure in his DRS system, while Ricciardo makes contact with the wall and also damages his rear wing, forcing him to return slowly.
During the end of the session, the drivers carried out race simulations. Since rain is potentially expected for the next session, the teams tried to gather as much data as possible during this session.
Results of Free Practice 1 of the 2019 Russian Grand Prix:
N° | Driver | Team | Times | Gap | Laps |
1 | Leclerc | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:34.462 | 20 | |
2 | Verstappen | Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Tag Heuer | 1:34.544 | +0.082 | 25 |
3 | Vettel | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:35.005 | +0.543 | 20 |
4 | Bottas | Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport | 1:35.198 | +0.736 | 28 |
5 | Hamilton | Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport | 1:35.411 | +0.949 | 22 |
6 | Albon | Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Tag Heuer | 1:35.484 | +1.022 | 22 |
7 | Hülkenberg | Renault F1 Team | 1:35.740 | +1.278 | 21 |
8 | Ricciardo | Renault F1 Team | 1:36.287 | +1.825 | 20 |
9 | Perez | Racing Point Force India Mercedes | 1:36.321 | +1.859 | 27 |
10 | Grosjean | Haas F1 Team | 1:36.516 | +2.054 | 23 |
11 | Sainz Jr. | McLaren Renault F1 Team | 1:36.523 | +2.061 | 28 |
12 | Gasly | Scuderia Toro Rosso | 1:36.538 | +2.076 | 25 |
13 | Magnussen | Haas F1 Team | 1:36.596 | +2.134 | 21 |
14 | Stroll | Racing Point Force India Mercedes | 1:36.714 | +2.252 | 26 |
15 | Räikkönen | Alfa Romeo Sauber Ferrari | 1:36.770 | +2.308 | 22 |
16 | Norris | McLaren Renault F1 Team | 1:36.844 | +2.382 | 30 |
17 | Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo Sauber Ferrari | 1:37.328 | +2.866 | 18 |
18 | Russell | Williams Racing | 1:38.520 | +4.058 | 27 |
19 | Kvyat | Scuderia Toro Rosso | 1:38.550 | +4.088 | 5 |
20 | Kubica | Williams Racing | 1:38.670 | +4.208 | 29 |
