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Malaysia FP1: Verstappen heads a Red Bull 1-2

Max Verstappen headed a Red Bull Racing 1-2 in Malaysia's shortened opening free practice session which was conducted on a wet to dry track.

Malaysian Grand Prix - Free Practice 1 results

Pos	Driver	Team	Time	Gap	Laps
1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1:48.962s		11
2	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	1:49.719s	+ 0.757s	12
3	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:50.597s	+ 1.635s	6
4	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:50.734s	+ 1.772s	12
5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:51.009s	+ 2.047s	12
6	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:51.518s	+ 2.556s	8
7	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:52.007s	+ 3.045s	10
8	Lance Stroll	Williams	1:52.295s	+ 3.333s	9
9	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	1:52.380s	+ 3.418s	14
10	Sergey Sirotkin	Renault	1:53.521s	+ 4.559s	10
11	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	1:53.625s	+ 4.663s	10
12	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	1:53.771s	+ 4.809s	10
13	Esteban Ocon	Force India	1:53.896s	+ 4.934s	6
14	Sean Gelael	Toro Rosso	1:54.610s	+ 5.648s	13
15	Sergio Pérez	Force India	1:54.669s	+ 5.707s	4
16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	1:55.280s	+ 6.318s	10
17	Pascal Wehrlein	Sauber	1:55.652s	+ 6.690s	10
18	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1:56.211s	+ 7.249s	8
19	Antonio Giovinazzi	Haas	1:56.339s	+ 7.377s	6
20	Felipe Massa	Williams			3

F1 officials delayed the start of the session by 30 minutes due to persistent rain showers. Conditions eventually improved and after a few exploratory laps from the Safety Car, teams were given the green light.

Fernando Alonso was the first driver to venture out, his McLaren equipped with the 'Halo' cockpit safety device.

Red Bull Racing took their time before sending out Daniel Ricciardo. The Aussie was keen to evaluate his gearbox for any damage after an issue in Singapore almost put him out of the race.

A series of fastest sector times and an outright fastest lap quickly dissipated any fears however.

As everyone came to grips with the wet track, Sebastian Vettel locked his brakes and slid wide over the gravel, but without any damage.

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The bulls, led by Verstappen, charged ahead and topped an FP session for the fourth consecutive time although one would not read much into such early form.

Verstappen clocked in with a 1:48.962, beating his team mate by 0.757s with both men taking full advantage of the efficient downforce of their RB13.

Alonso was a surprising third, pulling out a brilliant lap in the closing minutes of the session. His performance also put him nine spots and three seconds ahead of fellow McLaren team mate Stoffel Vandoorne.

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen and Sebatsian Vettel were fourth and fifth while arch rivals Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas were P6 and P7 respectively as the pair worked on set-up without extracting the most from their W08 Silver Arrows.

Among the FP1 rookie group, Pierre Gasly put in an impressive performance for his debut with Toro Rosso, keeping everything together and ending the session P9 while fellow junior bull Sean Gelael was over two seconds adrift.

Renault's Sergey Sirotkin, who was deputising for Nico Hulkenberg, was the second best debutant, clocking in P10 after completing 10 laps with just a small inconsequential mishap at Turn 2.

Charles Leclerc, Sauber's new recruit, also acquitted himself well, avoiding any costly mistakes to conclude his weekend outing P16.

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.