Racing Point’s Sergio Perez set the quickest time as Formula 1’s Styrian Grand Prix got underway at the Red Bull Ring.
Perez, using the Soft tyres, set a time of 1:04.867s during a relatively uneventful opening 90 minutes on Friday morning.
Perez’s best effort was 0.096s faster than second-placed Max Verstappen, who also used Soft tyres on his quick lap.
World Championship leader Valtteri Bottas was third, 0.222s behind Perez, as he and fourth-placed Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton both used Medium tyres.
Lance Stroll reinforced Racing Point’s pace by going fifth, having earlier had a lap time deleted for running wide through the final corner, while Alexander Albon was sixth.
McLaren’s Carlos Sainz Jr. took seventh, on Softs, ahead of AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly and Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo, both of whom stuck to Medium tyres.
Ferrari, following its poor display a week ago, trialled new components for its SF1000, with Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc 10th and 12th respectively.
Daniil Kvyat split the Ferrari drivers in 11th position, with Renault’s Esteban Ocon 13th and last week’s podium finisher Lando Norris 14th.
Alfa Romeo and Haas continued its form from a week ago with both Ferrari-powered teams towards the bottom of the midfield group.
Alfa Romeo handed an FP1 outing to reserve driver Robert Kubica, who classified 18th, three spots and three-tenths of a second down on Kimi Raikkonen.
Formula 2 racer Jack Aitken had his first outing at a grand prix weekend for Williams and he finished in a respectable 17th position.
Haas’ issues continued as a week on from both cars suffering brake concerns Kevin Magnussen amassed only three laps due to an energy store change in his VF-20.
Williams’ Nicholas Latifi caused the only stoppage when his FW43 came to a halt during the early stages with a suspected engine issue.
Second practice for Formula 1’s Styrian Grand Prix will begin at 15:00 local time.
| # | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | S. Perez | Racing Point | 1:04.867 | 32 | |
| 2 | M. Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:04.963 | +0.096 | 31 |
| 3 | V. Bottas | Mercedes | 1:05.089 | +0.222 | 31 |
| 4 | L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:05.120 | +0.253 | 29 |
| 5 | L. Stroll | Racing Point | 1:05.396 | +0.529 | 36 |
| 6 | A. Albon | Red Bull | 1:05.483 | +0.616 | 28 |
| 7 | C. Sainz | McLaren | 1:05.602 | +0.735 | 40 |
| 8 | P. Gasly | AlphaTauri | 1:05.698 | +0.831 | 27 |
| 9 | D. Ricciardo | Renault | 1:05.769 | +0.902 | 31 |
| 10 | S. Vettel | Ferrari | 1:05.770 | +0.903 | 25 |
| 11 | D. Kvyat | AlphaTauri | 1:05.815 | +0.948 | 28 |
| 12 | C. Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:05.837 | +0.970 | 28 |
| 13 | E. Ocon | Renault | 1:05.874 | +1.007 | 35 |
| 14 | L. Norris | McLaren | 1:05.908 | +1.041 | 25 |
| 15 | K. Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo | 1:06.441 | +1.574 | 23 |
| 16 | R. Grosjean | Haas | 1:06.446 | +1.576 | 31 |
| 17 | J. Aitken | Williams | 1:06.768 | +1.901 | 35 |
| 18 | R. Kubica | Alfa Romeo | 1:06.797 | +1.930 | 31 |
| 19 | N. Latifi | Williams | 1:09.598 | +4.731 | 6 |
| 20 | K. Magnussen | Haas | No Time | 3 |
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