Mercedes topped the opening session of the Spanish Grand Prix with Valtteri Bottas finishing FP1 with the fastest time of 1.16.785 around the Circuit de Catalunya. Lewis Hamilton was only 0.039 behind.
For the most part, it was a quiet session and things certainly started off that way. Many drivers went out with aero rakes and clocked up some good lap times but were not focused on single-lap speed.
Charles Leclerc had a series of rakes on the rear of his Ferrari and it seems that the Italian team has added more downforce compared to Silverstone last weekend. Sebastian Vettel has a new chassis this weekend and it seems to have worked as the German was much closer to his teammate compared to what the gap has been since the start of the season.
An things seemed to go a little bit better for Ferrari, as the Maranello team managed to finish in the top five with both cars: P4 for Charles Leclerc, with a personal best of 1m 17.970, although more than a second behind the Mercedes best time. Sebastian Vettel finished very close to his teammamte and that certainly looks rather better for Seb after the woes of Silverstone.
Here are the complete results from the first practice (FP1) session at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya:
Results (Classification):
Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:16.785
Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +0.039
Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing +0.939
Charles Leclerc Ferrari +1.185
Sebastian Vettel Ferrari +1.196
Romain Grosjean Haas +1.506
Sergio Perez Racing Point +1.686
Alex Albon Red Bull Racing +1.821
Kevin Magnussen Haas +1.835
Lance Stroll Racing Point +1.858
Carlos Sainz McLaren +1.948
Esteban Ocon Renault +1.951
Lando Norris McLaren +1.959
Pierre Gasly Alpha Tauri +2.103
Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo +2.794
Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo +2.196
Daniil Kvyat Alpha Tauri +2.360
Daniel Ricciardo Renault +2.445
Nicholas Latifi Williams +2.060
Roy Nissany Williams +2.004
Top 5 (sector times)
Bottas 1:16.785 (21.804–28.616–26.309)
Hamilton 1:16.824 (21.792–28.597–26.355)
Verstappen 1:17.724 (22.055–28.881–26.687)
Leclerc 1:17.970 (22.209–28.923–26.718)
Vettel 1:17.981 (22.060–29.085–26.836)
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