Styria, FP1: Verstappen quickest in opening practice for Styrian Grand Prix

F1 Drivers’ Championship leader Max Verstappen went quickest in the opening practice session for this weekend’s FIA Formula 1 Styrian Grand Prix, beating AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton.

Verstappen set the quickest time on medium tyres in the first phase of the session, working his way down to a lap of 1:06.511 a third of the way through the hour.

Mercedes then made the switch to soft tyres with Hamilton claiming top spot on a 1:06.390. The defending champion’s team-mate Valtteri Bottas then went quickest with a lap of 1:06.386s shortly before the half hour mark.

Hamilton then restored supremacy with a lap of 1:06.332, which remained his best of the session as Mercedes later moved to longer runs.

Gasly then made his move and the AlphaTauri driver muscled his way to top spot with a lap of 1:06.116.

Red Bull switched to soft tyres just as the session moved into its final half hour and Verstappen jumped back to P1 with a lap of 1:05.910. That lap, over two tenths of a second clear of Gasly and almost half a second ahead of Hamilton, stood as the best of the session until the flag.

Bottas might have gone quicker than the Dutchman but the Mercedes driver

ran wide in the final corner and lost time. He ended the session 0.476 off Verstappen in P4.

Yuki Tsunoda extended AlphaTauri’s strong start to the weekend with fifth place ahead of Alpine drivers Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon. Lance Stroll took eighth for Aston Martin ahead of Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc rounding out the top 10.