The race weekend at the London Excel Circuit kicked off at 17:00 local time with the start of FP1. Immediately after the start of the session, race director Scot Elkins started a safety test for the full course yellow, which ended only a few minutes later.
Sébastien Buemi was the first to put a time on the board during this half hour session. Unfortunately, the broadcast cut-out immediately after. The video feed returned with a mere 17 minutes on the clock. At this time, Vergne was leading the charts, followed by Sébastien Buemi and Maximilian Günther.
The top three didn’t remain unchanged for long. Robin Frijns, Mitch Evans and Sacha Fenestraz took over the top spots. Frijns then went straight, shortly left the track at T10, and quickly rejoined.
With 6 minutes to go in this first free practice, Oliver Rowland led the pack, followed by Pascal Werhlein and Evans. The FIA announced that Dan Ticktum was under investigation for ‘not following the race director’s instructions’.
Frijns then put in an amazing lap, putting him in P2. However, the running order changed completely after the chequered flag fell, title contender Jean-Éric Vergne on P1, Buemi on P2 and Jake Hughes on P3.
Out of the other title contenders, Evans finished highest on P4. António Félix da Costa finished on P7, Rowland on P9, Nick Cassidy on P11, Wehrlein on P13 and Dennis on P15. Tune in on Saturday morning at 10:00 GMT+1, for Free Practice 2.
