Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Motorsport prime

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Edition

USA

Brazilian GP: Albon goes quickest, then crashes in wet FP1

Red Bull driver Alex Albon set the fastest lap in opening practice for Formula 1’s Brazilian Grand Prix before crashing, while Lewis Hamilton failed to set a time.

Alexander Albon, Red Bull RB15

Alexander Albon, Red Bull RB15

Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Albon was quickest after the intermediate tyre runs but shunted with less than three minutes remaining while preparing for a late flying lap on slicks.

The session was not restarted, meaning Albon led the way from Valtteri Bottas and Sebastian Vettel – while world champion Hamilton failed to set a laptime.

Torrential rain hit Interlagos on Thursday evening and again on Friday morning, but conditions eased as the first 90-minute session began and by the end of FP1 drivers were able to complete a small amount of running on slick tyres.

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel was the first to brave a soaking wet track, using full wet tyres a couple of minutes into the session, but it would take another 20 minutes before a lap time was set.

Carlos Sainz posted a 1m22.149s that stood as the lone time for another 10 minutes, before Charles Leclerc went quickest on a 1m21.259s.

On his second run, after switching to intermediate tyres, Leclerc went four seconds faster and his 1m17.285s remained competitive even as conditions improved and others switched to intermediates.

Vettel displaced his Ferrari teammate with a 1m17.041s before Bottas set the first sub-1m7s lap, a 1m16.693s.

With 20 minutes remaining, Hamilton and both Red Bull drivers were among those still to set a lap time.

Albon then leapt from the foot of the times to P1, posting a 1m16.399s, while Verstappen waiting until just over five minutes were left before heading out for his first flying lap – on slick tyres.

Read Also:

The perils of the slippery surface were immediately evident, though, as Verstappen spun at Turn 2 shortly after Leclerc had run wide at the same place.

Daniil Kvyat had a harmless spin at Turn 1, but Albon was not as lucky as his colleagues.

The recently-confirmed Red Bull 2020 driver was completing his out-lap when he slid off the road approaching the penultimate corner.

Albon hit the barriers heavily with the front-right of his car taking the brunt of the impact, and the session was red-flagged and not restarted.

It meant no driver improved on slick tyres at the end, leaving Albon quickest from Bottas, Vettel, Leclerc, and Sainz.

Albon’s shunt also meant Romain Grosjean, Sergio Perez, Verstappen and Hamilton all failed to set a time.

Cla Driver Chassis Laps Time Gap
1 Thailand Alex Albon
Red Bull 9 1'16.142
2 Finland Valtteri Bottas
Mercedes 10 1'16.693 0.551
3 Germany Sebastian Vettel
Ferrari 13 1'17.041 0.899
4 Monaco Charles Leclerc
Ferrari 13 1'17.285 1.143
5 Spain Carlos Sainz Jr.
McLaren 16 1'17.786 1.644
6 Germany Nico Hulkenberg
Renault 8 1'17.899 1.757
7 Australia Daniel Ricciardo
Renault 9 1'17.985 1.843
8 France Pierre Gasly
Toro Rosso 17 1'18.100 1.958
9 Russian Federation Daniil Kvyat
Toro Rosso 16 1'18.274 2.132
10 United Kingdom Lando Norris
McLaren 15 1'18.559 2.417
11 United Kingdom George Russell
Williams 18 1'18.779 2.637
12 Denmark Kevin Magnussen
Haas 10 1'19.247 3.105
13 Canada Lance Stroll
Racing Point 6 1'19.414 3.272
14 Finland Kimi Raikkonen
Alfa Romeo 12 1'19.532 3.390
15 Italy Antonio Giovinazzi
Alfa Romeo 18 1'19.600 3.458
16 Canada Nicholas Latifi
Williams 16 1'20.010 3.868
17 France Romain Grosjean
Haas 3
18 Mexico Sergio Perez
Racing Point 1
19 Netherlands Max Verstappen
Red Bull 3
20 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes 3

Be part of Motorsport community

Join the conversation
Previous article Hamilton reveals latest Senna tribute helmet
Next article Albon not to blame for FP1 crash, says Horner

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Motorsport prime

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Edition

USA