
Verstappen logged a 1m19.718s on softs, having dispatched Lando Norris from the top spot as the McLaren driver had been among the first of the frontrunners to switch to the red-walled tyre.
Norris had gone just 0.008s faster than Verstappen's medium-tyre effort of a 1m20.245s - but the Dutchman returned to the top on his first soft run.