Verstappen fastest in FP1 as Leclerc spins out

The championship leader went to the top of the order early on in the session prior to a red flag period but struggled upon the resumption of the session as his RB20 appeared to lack balance in the majority of the session.

A lock-up at Turn 17 had nixed one lap and a miscue at the Turn 14-15 chicane cost another attempt at putting a time on the board, leaving the Dutchman languishing in 19th overall as the rest of the field started to improve.

Although he had to face a gust of wind on his first effort with softs which forced its abandonment, Verstappen rallied and placed his Red Bull on top of the pile with a 1m28.595s to shake off the earlier worries.

Charles Leclerc’s early spin at Turn 16 produced a red flag, as the circuit proved too narrow for him to immediately rotate his car the right way around. Unable to engage reverse a second time to complete his pirouette due to an overheated clutch, Leclerc had to abandon ship and jump out of his car.