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Red Bull F1 driver Max Verstappen set the benchmark, clocking the fastest time in the first free practice of the Qatar Grand Prix 2021 on Friday. The Dutchman was followed by Alpha Tauri driver Pierre Gasly and Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas.
As the Losail International Circuit hosts its inaugural F1 GP, dust and sand were a factor in the first practice session, and it took a lot of track running for cars to clear the slippery tarmac. Some teams found the correct balance and performance around the circuit, while others struggled with their aerodynamic configurations.
Verstappen’s fastest lap was clocked at 1 minute 23.723 seconds, which was 0.437 seconds quicker than Gasly and 0.471 seconds faster than Bottas. The Dutchman’s rival and reigning champion Lewis Hamilton struggled 0.786 seconds adrift of the Red Bull driver.
Hamilton had the fourth fastest lap of the session and was followed by Alpha Tauri driver Yuki Tsunoda. The Briton was heard complaining about the loss of power in his initial runs and later of front wing issues on the radio to his engineer.
Hamilton appeared to be experimenting with the corners - pushing through some and backing off in certain sectors. The Briton clocked the fastest second sector in the practice session, while Verstappen was the quickest in the first. Seven-time world champion Hamilton was called back to the garage towards the end of the session due to an issue, presumably related to the front wing.
Aston Martin's Lance Stroll, McLaren's Lando Norris and Hamilton suffered from a similar front wing issue that affected the balance of their car and reflected in their slower lap times. The front wing issues were a result of the vibrations caused by driving over the high kerbs at the circuit. Stroll had to retire his car due to a hydraulics issue with a few minutes left in the practice session.
Clocking the sixth fastest lap was Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, followed by team-mate Charles Leclerc and Red Bull's Sergio Perez. Alpine driver Esteban Ocon was ninth, followed by McLaren's Norris.
While FP1 does not reflect the true pace of the cars, the FIA confirmed via radio during the session that they will be observing the drivers, allowing them to understand the new circuit, before deciding on track limits for the GP.
The initial time on hard compounds saw Verstappen quicker than the two Mercedes. His fastest lap on hard compounds was clocked at 1 minute 24.855 seconds, which was 0.376 seconds quicker than Bottas’ fastest and 0.505 seconds quicker than Hamilton’s fastest on the same tire compound.
In theory, Red Bull F1 are the quickest after the first track action session. However, if Mercedes sort out their balance issues, they could get closer to their title rivals. While track limits are likely to be imposed in the second practice session, and temperatures are set to drop further, it will be interesting to see how these two factors affect the drivers in the second practice session.
FP1 results of F1 Qatar Grand Prix 2021
The full result classification for the first practice session of the F1 Qatar Grand Prix 2021 is as follows:
