Max Verstappen headed first practice for the Malaysian Grand Prix following a half-hour delay due to heavy rain at the Sepang International Circuit.
Fernando Alonso, who ran the Halo at the beginning of the session, jumped up to third place with a late run in his McLaren. He was followed by the two Ferrari drivers who completed their final runs just after the chequered flag fell. Sebastian Vettel had a brief off-track moment at turn nine earlier in the session.
The Mercedes pair were next, Lewis Hamilton ahead of Valtteri Bottas. The top ten was completed by Lance Stroll, Toro Rosso newcomer Pierre Gasly and Renault test driver Sergey Sirotkin. The latter outpaced regular driver Jolyon Palmer by a tenth of a second.
Sean Gelael, Charles Leclerc and Antonio Giovinazzi were the other test drivers who ran during the session. The only driver who failed to set a time was Felipe Massa, who was delayed by a hydraulic fault on his Williams.
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Car | Best lap | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-TAG Heuer | 1’48.962 | 11 | |
| 2 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull-TAG Heuer | 1’49.719 | 0.757 | 12 |
| 3 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren-Honda | 1’50.597 | 1.635 | 6 |
| 4 | 7 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1’50.734 | 1.772 | 12 |
| 5 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1’51.009 | 2.047 | 12 |
| 6 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’51.518 | 2.556 | 8 |
| 7 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1’52.007 | 3.045 | 10 |
| 8 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Williams-Mercedes | 1’52.295 | 3.333 | 9 |
| 9 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso-Renault | 1’52.380 | 3.418 | 14 |
| 10 | 46 | Sergey Sirotkin | Renault | 1’53.521 | 4.559 | 10 |
| 11 | 30 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault | 1’53.625 | 4.663 | 10 |
| 12 | 2 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren-Honda | 1’53.771 | 4.809 | 10 |
| 13 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Force India-Mercedes | 1’53.896 | 4.934 | 6 |
| 14 | 38 | Sean Gelael | Toro Rosso-Renault | 1’54.610 | 5.648 | 13 |
| 15 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Force India-Mercedes | 1’54.669 | 5.707 | 4 |
| 16 | 37 | Charles Leclerc | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’55.280 | 6.318 | 10 |
| 17 | 94 | Pascal Wehrlein | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’55.652 | 6.690 | 10 |
| 18 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas-Ferrari | 1’56.211 | 7.249 | 8 |
| 19 | 50 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Haas-Ferrari | 1’56.339 | 7.377 | 6 |
| 20 | 19 | Felipe Massa | Williams-Mercedes |
First practice visual gaps
Max Verstappen – 1’48.962
+0.757 Daniel Ricciardo – 1’49.719
+1.635 Fernando Alonso – 1’50.597
+1.772 Kimi Raikkonen – 1’50.734
+2.047 Sebastian Vettel – 1’51.009
+2.556 Lewis Hamilton – 1’51.518
+3.045 Valtteri Bottas – 1’52.007
+3.333 Lance Stroll – 1’52.295
+3.418 Pierre Gasly – 1’52.380
+4.559 Sergey Sirotkin – 1’53.521
+4.663 Jolyon Palmer – 1’53.625
+4.809 Stoffel Vandoorne – 1’53.771
+4.934 Esteban Ocon – 1’53.896
+5.648 Sean Gelael – 1’54.610
+5.707 Sergio Perez – 1’54.669
+6.318 Charles Leclerc – 1’55.280
+6.690 Pascal Wehrlein – 1’55.652
+7.249 Romain Grosjean – 1’56.211
+7.377 Antonio Giovinazzi – 1’56.339
Drivers more then ten seconds off the pace omitted.
2017 Malaysian Grand Prix
- 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix Predictions Championship results
- Hamilton queried the FIA over Vettel’s steering wheel in Malaysia
- 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix team radio transcript
- 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix Star Performers
- “What a bunch of idiots”: 2017 Malaysian GP team radio highlights
SteveR
29th September 2017, 5:35
Damn, the SkySports guys sure look uncomfortable in those weird pants. Ted (though I hate him) looks much more relaxed in his shorts.
Jay Menon (@jaymenon10)
29th September 2017, 6:28
Sadly thats the closest Alonso and Mclaren will be to the front row all weekend.
Nitzo (@webtel)
29th September 2017, 6:32
You never know. there could be three car crash at turn 1 involving drivers from the top two constructors, a mechanical failure for a would be 20 yr old, a few poor tyre choice and voila–Alonso on the podium.
Jay Menon (@jaymenon10)
29th September 2017, 6:45
@webtel
hahaha…even a Sauber will pass Mclaren down the straights…so yeah.
Esploratore
29th September 2017, 23:56
That is not the case, probably never has, even in baku mclarens were already attacking\passing saubers.
Nitzo (@webtel)
29th September 2017, 6:28
I dont want to read too much into these times but nonetheless,
Cant help but notice the fact that even Sirotkin is faster than Palmer !!!
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
29th September 2017, 8:36
Yeah.
Shimks (@shimks)
29th September 2017, 13:00
Yeah, that’s pretty damning. But who knows – maybe Palmer was carrying an extra 100kg of fuel. :Op
Krishna Reddy (@krishna)
29th September 2017, 6:50
Everyone is missing the fact that Leclerc is quicker than WEH, and there goes WEH’s 2018 race drive.
anon
29th September 2017, 6:57
@krishna, it’s more that, in a session with variable conditions, the times are rather meaningless when the track conditions will be affecting the times far more than driver ability.
Yes, it is true that Wehrlein will probably be out of a seat by the end of the year, but that will probably be due to Ferrari’s influence over the team (given how many components they supply to Sauber, a possible discount for running Leclerc becomes very attractive and gives them a lot of leverage over the team) as much as anything else.
Me Again
29th September 2017, 7:37
Everybody is missing that Verstappen is almost a second faster than Ricciardo, even though Ricciardo is almost a 100 points ahead in points. There goes his 2018 drive; bring Kvyat back.
@HoHum (@hohum)
29th September 2017, 7:44
Read more carefully, DR stopped before the track dried, that could have affected his time, don’t you think.
Me Again
29th September 2017, 9:36
@Hohum,
It’s a sarcastic reply to the original comment; times during such sessions don’t mean a lot!
Matn
29th September 2017, 20:07
did it…? you make it sound like Ricciardo is usualy faster.
Rain means Verstappen on top regardless
Esploratore
29th September 2017, 23:59
Yes, ricciardo isn’t a top level wet weather driver like atm hamilton and verstappen; alonso and stroll are pretty good too compared to most of the grid.
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
29th September 2017, 8:37
Well, lets hope this will be a wet race.