After Daniel Ricciardo, Norris, Verstappen and Alex Albon had enjoyed brief spells in the top spot during the opening quarter of the one-hour session, Verstappen seized it again with a 1m19.511s set on the standard 2023 Pirelli C4 mediums.
That stood as the benchmark for the remainder of the early laps the field completed on the hard, medium and prototype mediums, with Oscar Piastri then leading the switch to softs a few minutes past the one-third distance.
