Europe – Free Practice 1: Maldonado Sets the Pace

It’s under relatively mild conditions – 23 degrees – that the teams set off for this first practice session of the European Grand Prix. At Ferrari, a new front wing is being used, which has been covered with a yellow-green paint to test its effectiveness. The same approach is applied to the floor, which also features some new developments.

In the first quarter hour, the drivers mainly perform installation laps to ensure that everything is working, but no lap times are recorded. In fact, it takes another good quarter hour to see a driver complete a flying lap, which is Jean-Eric Vergne with a time of 1.43.334, followed by his Australian teammate. The Toro Rosso driver even gives himself a little scare by brushing against the walls at the track’s edge.

The first big name to set a time is Kimi Räikkönen, who takes the lead with a lap of 1.42.589. Midway through the session, it’s Nico Rosberg who leads the pack ahead of Räikkönen and Massa. A bit further down, we find Jules Bianchi in the Force India, sitting in tenth place.

After a long immobilization during which the mechanics worked on the rear of his car, Mark Webber returns to the track and takes seventh position, while Vettel also improves and places second behind Maldonado and his Williams.

In the last 30 minutes, the drivers are trying to improve their times, which leads to some scares at braking points. This was the case, for example, with Felipe Massa, Jenson Button, Pedro de la Rosa, and Michael Schumacher.

At the end of the session, it’s Pastor Maldonado who is credited with the best time of 1:40.890. The Venezuelan is ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. Among the French drivers, Romain Grosjean is 11th, Bianchi 15th, Vergne 18th, and Pic 21st. Note that only medium tires were used by the teams.

Free Practice 1 Rankings of the European Grand Prix: