Verstappen happy with P7 in first Spa session
Published on 21 August 2015 by Stefan Meens
Max Verstappen finished the first free practice session of the Belgian Grand Prix in seventh. Despite expectations of the Renault engine’s power deficit affecting the performance of both Red Bull and Scuderia Toro Rosso, both teams posted encouraging lap times in the weekend’s first session with the Red Bulls clocking the third and sixth quickest times, followed by Max and Carlos Sainz in P7 and P8.
“The first session went well. I took it easy and build up my pace”, explains Max to Verstappen.nl. “The lap times don’t really mean a thing at this stage. We’ll have to wait and see where we end up but the most important thing is that the car feels good. There’s always room for improvement but were off to a good start.”
With Max contesting what is effectively his home Grand Prix, there are plenty of fans cheering the youngster on. “I saw a lot of Dutch flags. On the long straights there is enough time to see them”, smiles Max. “I can’t hear their cheering but I can see them waving.”
When the light goes green for the first session of the weekend, Max heads out for the customary installation lap. Ten laps into FP1, the 17-year-old puts his first couple of flying laps on the board. After half an hour, when the first set of Pirellis have to be handed over to the FIA, Max sits in eighth. In addition, the Dutchman is fastest at the speed trap in his STR10, despite the lack of power from the Renault engine. “I got a tow near in the run to Radion”, explains Max.
As usual, FP1 is used to find the limit of the track. Carlos Sainz locks up half an hour into the session followed by several drivers hitting kerbs and missing their apex. Kimi Raikkonen pulls off the most impressive stunt by going slightly airborne at the exit of Eau Rouge. The flying Finn is nonetheless able to keep his Ferrari on track and resumes his lap.
Pastor Maldonado is less successful in keeping his Lotus on the tarmac. At the exit of Malmedy, the Venezuelan driver loses control and smacks into the barriers. He walks away uninjured and hitches a ride in the medical car back to the pits.
In the closing stages of the session, Max completes a long stint on the harder Pirellis. Over the radio he tells his race engineer Xevi Pujolar the obvious news: “The car slides across four wheels and I’m losing more grip every lap.” Nevertheless, the Dutchman finishes FP1 in a solid P7.
Ahead of FP2, Max is clear on what to do. “We’ll try to improve the balance and traction. After that I’ll do a long run in preparation for the race.”
Spa-Francorchamps - Belgian Grand Prix - Friday 21 August
RESULTS FREE PRACTICE 1 P No Driver Team Time Gap Laps 1 6 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:51.082 19 2 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:51.324 +0.242s 24 3 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 1:51.373 +0.291s 18 4 7 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:51.478 +0.396s 23 5 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:51.866 +0.784s 21 6 26 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull 1:51.960 +0.878s 18 7 33 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso 1:52.158 +1.076s 27 8 55 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso 1:52.421 +1.339s 26 9 11 Sergio Perez Force India 1:52.423 +1.341s 20 10 77 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:52.511 +1.429s 19 11 13 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1:52.539 +1.457s 15 12 27 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:52.614 +1.532s 20 13 12 Felipe Nasr Sauber 1:52.640 +1.558s 16 14 19 Felipe Massa Williams 1:52.653 +1.571s 22 15 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1:53.426 +2.344s 16 16 14 Fernando Alonso McLaren 1:53.502 +2.420s 15 17 30 Jolyon Palmer Lotus 1:53.799 +2.717s 23 18 22 Jenson Button McLaren 1:54.225 +3.143s 14 19 28 Will Stevens Marussia 1:55.501 +4.419s 16 20 98 Roberto Merhi Marussia 1:56.086 +5.004s 17
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