Hamilton posts fastest time in 1st practice at F1 opener

TIL Desk Sports/ A new era for Formula One cars got under way without much change in the status quo, with Lewis Hamilton posting the fastest time in his Mercedes in the first practice session of the opening Grand Prix weekend of the season. Hamilton’s quickest lap of 1 minute, 24.220 seconds yesterday was nearly six-tenths of a second – 0.0583 seconds – faster than new Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas.

The two Mercedes cars were followed by the two Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo, 0.666 behind, and Max Verstapen in third and fourth and the two Ferraris of Kimi Raikkonen in fifth and Sebastian Vettel, who only did 10 laps and was 1.244 off the pace.

The new regulations for 2017 allowed for wider tires with more grip and durability, greater aerodynamics, bigger fuel loads and increased downforce. The first practice session supported expectations that the cars will be significantly quicker this year.