Max Verstappen led the pack out of the pits at the start of the one-hour session and he set the first place benchmark at 1m20.154s in his RB19 which was fitted with an aerodynamic load-measuring device.
He was quickly shuffled back in the standings as the rest of the drivers that had headed out when the track went live posted their opening times, with Bottas's 1m18.728s the best of the very limited bunch.
