---
title: "Verstappen tops opening practice for the first time in 2018"
canonical: "https://readmotorsport.com/2018/06/08/verstappen-tops-opening-practice-for-the-first-time-in-2018/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Kyran Gibbons"
section: "F1 News"
published: "2018-06-08T15:57:48Z"
modified: "2018-06-08T15:57:48Z"
---

# Verstappen tops opening practice for the first time in 2018

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen topped his first session of the 2018 Formula 1 season, posting the fastest time in opening practice for the Canadian Grand Prix.

He was compromised in the opening 50 minutes of the 90-minute practice after suffering a puncture on his first of two tyre sets allocated for the session. As such, he did not set a time until over half-way through FP1.

Verstappen reached the top of the timesheet with his sixth lap on his first hypersoft run. He then improved again on his eighth lap, setting a 1m13.302s that was not eclipsed.

He was one of only five drivers to set their fastest times on the hypersoft tyre in the session.

Lewis Hamilton finished second. On the harder ultrasoft compound, the reigning champion was just 0.088s behind Verstappen.

Hamilton had led the timesheet after the first 40 minutes of the session following his initial run on the supersoft tyres.

Third on the timesheet was Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo. The Monaco Grand Prix winner set the fastest first sector of the session before a lock-up at the tight hairpin at the start of sector three cost him significant time on what proved to be his personal best lap.

Despite the mistake, he was only 0.216s adrift of his team-mate’s benchmark.

After spending 30 minutes in the garage while his team changed bodywork components, Sebastian Vettel emerged on hypersoft’s for the final 10 minutes of the session and climbed from ninth to finish fourth.

Vettel edged out Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas who, like his team-mate Hamilton, posted his session best effort on the ultrasoft compound. Compatriot Kimi Raikkonen was sixth for Ferrari.

Fernando Alonso had led the session early on after being the first driver to post a representative time on the hypersoft rubber, but eventually slid to seventh.

Carlos Sainz Jr was eighth. His Renault team-mate Nico Hulkenberg’s session ended within the first 30 minutes after a gear selection issue left him stranded on the back straight.

Stoffel Vandoorne and Pierre Gasly rounded out the top 10.

While Gasly’s Toro Rosso team-mate Brendon Hartley ended up 16th, he did record the fastest speed trap result with his Honda power unit propelling him to 328kph.

Williams suffered a tricky session. Lance Stroll clipped the ‘Wall of Champions’ with his right-rear wheel, triggering a puncture and curtailing his session with 30 minutes left on the clock.

Sergey Sirotkin, who had completed more laps than any other driver at the mid-point of the session, spun at Turn 7 and slid into the barriers. He damaged the rear wing but was able to return to the pits.