Verstappen recovers to top practice in Abu Dhabi

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates: Max Verstappen recovered his confidence and poise on Friday when he topped the times for Red Bull ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell in opening practice at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The two-time world champion showed no reaction to recent events after ignoring team orders in Brazil, where Russell gained his maiden victory, and then delivering an angry attack on the news media and social media on Thursday.

“I am really happy with how that session went. Of course, we’ll always try to refine things overnight, but we should be competitive in qualifying,” he said.

Verstappen clocked a best lap in one minute and 25.146 seconds to outpace Russell by more than three-tenths of a second. — AFP