Max Verstappen fastest during FWS free practice

Published on 26 January 2014 by Stefan Meens

On Saturday, Max Verstappen produced excellent times in the first free practice sessions for the Florida Winter Series as he set the fastest lap of the day at the Sebring International Raceway. The talented Dutchman clocked his time in the fourth and final session. Throughout the other three sessions, karting's newly crowned "Driver Of The Year 2013" was always near the top of the table as he drove to fifth in FP1 and claimed second in both the second and third sessions.

Max stunned the opposition with a fastest lap an impressive nine tenths quicker than the second fastest lap of the day, set by Nicholas Latifi in the third session. Max' performance was all the more remarkable as the Dutchman's car was plagued by several issues, resulting in a switch of car. In the end, it did not stop Max to claim top spot on the leaderboards as he looks ahead, full of confidence, to the first FWS race on Sunday.

The first free practice session proved a solid start to the day for Max, as he set the fastest lap several times, with Antonio Fuoco, Tatiana Calderon and Nicholas Latifi all challenging for the top spot. The latter took that honour as he set a 2:05.169. Max had to settle for fifth with a 2:06.173. He reflects: "It just didn't feel great in the first session, as we experienced several issues with the engines electronics. We tried to solve them throughout the session but I just wasn't able to put in fast laps."

The half hour interval between the first two practice sessions was used by the team in an attempt to fix the issues holding Max back earlier in the morning. However, as the second session got under way, Max decided to switch cars.
"After another lap in which the car didn't feel right, we chose to switch cars and I have to say the team really worked hard to get the car prepared", said Max as he is impressed by the series supported by the Ferrari Driver Academy: "The way things are ran in the FWS are pretty much perfect."

The team was able to send Max back out on track with a mere nine minutes left in FP2 but Verstappen junior made the most of it. With a 2:05.251 he claimed second, behind Formula 3 Euro Series champion Raffaele Marciello (2:04.754). All in all, a good result for Max as his fastest time in FP2 was the third quickest of the day so far.

From session three onwards, Max really picked up the pace as he set the fastest lap of the day, up until that point, with a 2:04.5, a few laps later topped with a 2:04.282. Unfortunately, Nicholas Latifi puts in a 2:04.282 meaning Max has to settle for second at the end of FP3.
Despite the good performance by the karting world champion, he again experienced issues with the car. "The throttle pedal sensor was not working properly which meant we lost time. After the team replaced the sensor I was able to pick up the pace but I didn't have enough time to put in the fastest lap of the session", explains Max.

As the lights went green for session four, Max was the first out on track. With the new sensors up and running, Max is on a mission. It did not take long before purple sector times appeared on behalf of race car number three. In the end Max put in a stunning 2:03:385. A sensational lap as he is the first driver to break the 2:04 barrier and he remained the only one to do so.

The rest of pack were putting in good times but they were no match for the Dutch youngster as he put in another couple of laps in the 2:03s, confirming he was by far the fastest driver of the day. Max can be confident going in to the Sunday and Monday of the event when several qualifying sessions and races are lined up. Max: "Things are indeed looking good and I'm going to give it my all to put in some good results."

Results day 1 (Saturday January 25) – Sebring Raceway – Florida Winter Series:
Results free practice 1
Results free practice 2
Results free practice 3
Results free practice 4

Schedule Florida Winter Series Round 1, Sebring Raceway (GMT):

Sunday January 26
03.00pm-3.30pm: Qualifying race 1 and race 2
04.00pm-4.30pm: Qualifying race 3
08.45pm-9.15pm: Race 1

Monday Januray 27
04.00pm-04.30pm: Race 2
08.45pm-09.15pm: Race 3

Click for a direct link to the Florida Winter Series livetiming.

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Ron Lem / Stefan Meens