FP1 Tag

By FIA Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas went quickest in the opening practice session for the Spanish Grand Prix, finishing more than eight tenths of a second ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton and almost a second clear of third-placed Sebastian Vettel. The Mercedes drivers’ dominance of the session was established early with Bottas using soft tyres to push into the 1m18s bracket. At that point the were backed up by Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo, but the Australian wouldn’t figure in the session for much longer. With grip at the premium onRead More

By FIA Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas took top spot in the first practice session for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but there were problems for Red Bull Racing as Max Verstappen crashed. The Dutch driver led the way in the opening half an hour of the session, setting the pace with a time in the mid-1m45s bracket. That left him marginally clear of Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, as the Renault-powered team began the weekend brightly. The outlook darkened soon afterwards, however, as Verstappen lost control on the approach to Turn 5Read More

By FIA Lewis Hamilton finished more than three tenths of a second ahead of Kimi Räikkönen as practice for the Chinese Grand Prix got underway at the Shanghai International Circuit. The Mercedes driver set his quickest lap on Pirelli’s soft tyres, while Räikkönen needed the ultrasoft compound, two steps softer in the tyre manufacturer’s range, to split Hamilton from team-mate Valtteri Bottas, who finished just under half a second behind the defending champion. In cool conditions Mercedes looked comfortably in control, with Hamilton making steady improvements throughout the session asRead More

By FIA Lewis Hamilton went quickest in the first practice of the new season, as the 2018 FIA Formula 1 World Championship campaign got underway in Melbourne. The defending champion beat Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas by over half a second as running got underway at the Albert Park circuit, with Max Verstappen a further two tenths of a second off the pace. With the temporary circuit lacking grip, teams played a waiting game in the early stages and more than 20 minutes before Williams rookie set the first timed lapRead More

Lewis Hamilton headed a dominant Mercedes 1-2 in the opening free practice for the Brazilian Grand Prix, the Briton finishing a tenth of a second ahead of team-mate Valtteri Bottas and half a second clear of Ferrari’s third-placed Kimi Räikkönen. After spending the first half of the session controlling matters on Pirelli’s soft compound tyre, Hamilton switched to supersofts and after Bottas had taken top on the same compound with a time of 1:09.329, Hamilton responded by lowering the benchmark to 1:09.202. The lap was good enough to keep HamiltonRead More

Valtteri Bottas beat Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton by almost half a second to top the timesheet in first practice for this weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix. The Finnish driver set a best time of 1:17.824s on Pirelli’s ultrasoft tyres with Hamilton 0.466s behind and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen a further tenth back in third place. Hamilton goes into this weekend’s race knowing that fifth place or better will seal his fourth Drivers’ title but the Briton has stated that he would like to claim the crown with a victory. That aimRead More

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel went quickest in opening practice for the Japanese Grand Prix, beating Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton by two tenths of a second. The session was interrupted, however, by a heavy crash involving Carlos Sainz. Sainz’s smash came shortly after the midpoint of the session. The Toro Rosso driver ran wide on the entry to Turn 12, after the hairpin, and lost control of his car. The Spaniard spun across the track and arrowed nose first into the barriers, scattering debris across the surface. The session was immediately red-flagged asRead More

Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen set the quickest lap of a weather-disrupted opening practice session in Malaysia, as heavy rain led to a delayed start and a shortened outing for F1:s teams at the Sepang Circuit. Verstappen posted a time 1:48.962s on intermediate tyres late in the session to finish 0.757 seconds clear of teammate Daniel Ricciardo, with third place going to Fernando Alonso, though the McLaren driver was a further second behind. The session was due to start at 11am local time but intermittent showers in the morning gaveRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Charles Leclerc is set to appear in four FP1 appearances this season with Sauber, beginning at the Malaysian Grand Prix. The 19-year-old Frenchman is a Ferrari junior driver and currently leads the F2 Championship by 59 points with four rounds remaining. He has been linked for a possible seat for the Swiss outfit for 2018 following the recent announcement of a continued technical partnership with Ferrari. “The Sauber F1 Team is pleased to confirm that Charles Leclerc will be in the cockpit of the Sauber C36-FerrariRead More

Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo went fastest in opening practice for the Singapore Grand Prix ahead of Ferrari but it was announcements off-track that garnered most attention at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. Following months of speculation McLaren and Honda announced that they will end their partnership at the close of the 2017, with the Woking squad then quickly announcing that its power units will be supplied by Renault in 2018. As well as issuing its own statement about the McLaren supply, Renault subsequently announced that it has signed ToroRead More