Formula 1

F1 2021 Austrian Grand Prix FP1 – Verstappen tops

Published

2 years ago

02/07/2021

F1 2021 Austrian Grand Prix FP2 – Verstappen tops

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen led the opening practice session of Formula 1’s second Red Bull Ring weekend of 2021, the Austrian Grand Prix.

Formula 1 championship leader Max Verstappen maintained his strong form as he topped opening practice for the Austrian Grand Prix.

Formula 1 has stayed on for back-to-back events at the Red Bull Ring, marking the 26th grand prix in the calendar year since the venue kick-started the delayed 2020 season.

2021 F1 AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX – FREE PRACTICE RESULTS (1)

POS	DRIVER	NAT.	TEAM	TIME
1	Max Verstappen	NED	Red Bull Racing	1m05.143s
2	Charles Leclerc	MON	Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow	1m05.409s
3	Carlos Sainz	ESP	Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow	1m05.431s
4	Valtteri Bottas	FIN	Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team	1m05.445s
5	Yuki Tsunoda	JPN	Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda	1m05.474s
6	Kimi Raikkonen	FIN	Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen	1m05.586s
7	Lewis Hamilton	GBR	Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team	1m05.709s
8	Sergio Perez	MEX	Red Bull Racing	1m05.726s
9	Pierre Gasly	FRA	Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda	1m05.726s
10	Lando Norris	GBR	McLaren F1 Team	1m05.880s
11	Esteban Ocon	FRA	Alpine F1 Team	1m05.980s
12	Daniel Ricciardo	AUS	McLaren F1 Team	1m06.181s
13	Lance Stroll	CAN	Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team	1m06.203s
14	Guanyu Zhou	CHI	Alpine F1 Team	1m06.414s
15	Sebastian Vettel	GER	Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team	1m06.444s
16	Callum Ilott	GBR	Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen	1m05.564s
17	Mick Schumacher	GER	Uralkali Haas F1 Team	1m06.583s
18	Roy Nissany	ISR	Williams Racing	1m06.683s
19	Nicholas Latifi	CAN	Williams Racing	1m06.978s
20	Nikita Mazepin	RUS	Uralkali Haas F1 Team	1m07.316s

In a deviation from last weekend’s Styrian Grand Prix Pirelli has gone one step softer with its tyre nominations, with the C3s, C4s and C5s in use.

Verstappen, who heads Lewis Hamilton by 18 points, clocked a time of 1:05.143s to finish 0.266s clear of the field up front, as Red Bull goes in search of a fifth straight win, and Verstappen a clean sweep of the current triple-header.

Ferrari emerged as Verstappen’s nearest rival, with Charles Leclerc second, and Carlos Sainz third.

Hamilton finished the session in seventh spot, half a second behind his title rival, having been one of several drivers to lock up heavily into Turn 1.

Valtteri Bottas was fourth, having also shot wide at the first corner, ahead of AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda and Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen, who classified an impressive sixth.

Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly and McLaren’s Lando Norris rounded out the top 10.

Drivers spent part of the session trialling unmarked tyres as part of Pirelli’s efforts to address any issues arising from its Baku failures.

The test sets, effectively a C4 compound, feature a revised rear construction, and they will also be available during Friday’s second session.

It will be determined in the coming days whether the revised constructions will be introduced from the British Grand Prix onwards.

It was a scruffy session for Stroll as the Canadian suffered a second spin exiting the final corner as he prepared for a hot lap.

Stroll nonetheless finished the session in 13th place, two spots ahead of Aston Martin team-mate Sebastian Vettel.

Three test drivers were afforded the opportunity to get behind the wheel of Formula 1 machinery during the session – with a grand prix weekend debut for Alpine’s Guanyu Zhou.

Zhou, the Formula 2 championship leader, finished in 14th position, three spots behind team-mate Esteban Ocon.

Alfa Romeo’s back-up reserve Callum Ilott had his second outing of the campaign, classifying in 16th place, while Williams tester Roy Nissany was 18th.

F1 2021 Austrian Grand Prix FP2 – Verstappen tops F1 2021 Austrian Grand Prix FP2 – Verstappen tops

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