P7 for Max in first Malaysian practice session

Published on 27 March 2015 by Stefan Meens

Max Verstappen clocked the seventh quickest time in the first free practice session of the Malaysian Grand Prix. The Scuderia Toro Rosso driver lapped the Sepang circuit 23 times, of which a 1:41.803 was his fastest effort. His team mate Carlos Sainz finished free practice 1 in fourth.

At the start of the session, Max heads out on track for a couple of installation laps followed by several flying laps. His progress is halted when the Dutchman is summoned back to the pits. On the team radio, race engineer Xevi Pujolar explains that Max’ has a slow puncture on the right rear. After a quick visit to the Toro Rosso pit box, Max resumes his on track running.

An hour into the session, Max holds P4, after setting his fastest lap of the session (1:41.803). Nevertheless, the Dutchman knows he can improve. “I’ve got traction issues in turn nine”, explains the youngster to the team. “I’ve lost about three to four tenths there.”

Upon returning to the pits, the team tweaks the set up and sends Max out to absolve more valuable track time. In the end, the 17-year-old manages 23 laps, three less than team mate Carlos Sainz, who’s 1:41.596 earns him P4.

At the front, Mercedes once again topped the table with Nico Rosberg leading the way. Team mate Lewis Hamilton did not set a time due to engine problems. The world champion’ absence gave way for the two Ferraris of Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel to complete the top three.

Further down the pitlane, Manor, after not driving in Melbourne, was finally able to send the 2015-spec modified Marussia MR04 out on track. Not surprisingly, both the team’s drivers Will Stevens and Roberto Mehri finished the session slowest.

Malaysian Grand Prix – Sepang International Circuit – Friday 27 March

 FREE PRACTICE 1
      Name 		  Team 		Time 	   Laps 
 1    Nico Rosberg 	  Mercedes 	1:40.124   20 
 2    Kimi Raikkonen 	  Ferrari 	1:40.497   17 
 3    Sebastian Vettel 	  Ferrari 	1:40.985   13 
 4    Romain Grosjean 	  Lotus 	1:41.543   14 
 5    Carlos Sainz 	  Toro Rosso 	1:41.596   26 
 6    Daniel Ricciardo 	  Red Bull 	1:41.787   15 
 7    Max Verstappen 	  Toro Rosso 	1:41.803   23 
 8    Valtteri Bottas 	  Williams 	1:41.882   23 
 9    Daniil Kvyat 	  Red Bull 	1:42.055   18 
10    Marcus Ericsson 	  Sauber 	1:42.064   16 
11    Felipe Massa 	  Williams 	1:42.103   23 
12    Pastor Maldonado 	  Lotus 	1:42.567   19 
13    Raffaele Marciello  Sauber 	1:42.621   13 
14    Fernando Alonso 	  McLaren 	1:42.885   20 
15    Nico Hulkenberg 	  Force India 	1:42.893   13 
16    Sergio Perez 	  Force India 	1:43.054   15 
17    Jenson Button 	  McLaren 	1:43.100   19 
18    Will Stevens 	  Marussia 	1:46.686   8 
19    Roberto Merhi 	  Marussia 	1:47.683   8 
20    Lewis Hamilton 	  Mercedes 	No time    4 

Via Twitter and Facebook we'll keep you updated throughout the weekend followed by a full report on Verstappen.nl at the end of the day’s action. You can find the schedule for the  Grand Prix here. Don't forget to check out the weekend’s photo album.