Spain – Free Practice 1: Vettel and Räikkönen put Ferrari in the top two places
In a session dominated by the numerous aerodynamic changes made by the teams, the two Ferrari drivers took advantage of their soft tires to dominate the timing and stay ahead of the Mercedes drivers. Frenchman Esteban Ocon was unable to take to the track for his first race in the discipline, as his Renault was immobilized in the pits.
The European season opens with the traditional Spanish Grand Prix on the Barcelona track. The weather is perfect, although a cloudier forecast is expected for the rest of the weekend.
Max Verstappen makes his debut with Red Bull, after swapping his Toro Rosso seat with Daniil Kvyat. All eyes will be on both men this weekend, and they will have to handle a lot of pressure.
A newcomer is also making his first steps in Formula 1. Renault has decided to give a chance to Frenchman Esteban Ocon for this first practice session. He replaces Jolyon Palmer, who will retake his seat this afternoon. The team will also use this first hour and a half of testing to try new aerodynamic developments on the RS16.
At the beginning of the session, Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton settle at the top of the timesheet while the two Haas drivers, Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez, are slow to take to the track.
On the Renault garage side, the other Frenchman of the session, Esteban Ocon, settles into his single-seater but does not immediately take to the track. Unfortunately for him, he will not start, as his RS16 suffers a major breakdown after a puncture during an installation lap…it’s just a postponement for the Frenchman!
The Ferraris also seem to be in good shape as Sebastian Vettel slots in between the two Mercedes before Kimi Räikkönen, on soft tires, sets the fastest time before finally being beaten by his teammate with a time of 1:23.951. However, the performance of the men in red should be viewed with caution as both Mercedes are on medium tires, unlike Vettel and Räikkönen.
Further down the ranking, Max Verstappen is in 6th position, two tenths behind his teammate Daniel Ricciardo, while Daniil Kvyat, in 12th, is outpaced by Carlos Sainz by five tenths of a second…
In the last half-hour, we can see that Romain Grosjean is still having difficulties with his car. The Frenchman, who has been complaining about the behavior of his Haas for the past two Grand Prix, does not seem to have found the solution as he declares on his radio that “it’s a real disaster.”
Among the teams testing new aerodynamic developments, the golden palm for complexity, due to the Cannes Festival, goes to Force India with its very, very elaborate front wing.
In front of his home crowd, Fernando Alonso secures the last place in the Top 10, ahead of his McLaren teammate Jenson Button by nearly one and a half seconds. The Briton is encountering some steering problems with his car.
.@JensonButton (19th, 1:27.610) is having issues with steering on his @McLarenF1 #FP1 #SpanishGP pic.twitter.com/Resa1MdJeq
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 13, 2016
A few minutes before the end of the session, the drivers are pushing hard on the track, completing numerous laps on a circuit they know perfectly well and which is also perfectly suited for testing aerodynamic updates. Only Felipe Massa makes a small off-track excursion, without any serious consequences, with his Williams. The Brazilian sits in 9th place in the provisional standings.
The times won’t change anymore, and the session ends with the two best times from Ferrari, who managed to outpace the two Mercedes thanks to their soft tires. Vettel and Räikkönen were the only two drivers to use this type of tire this morning, which explains the time gap with the competition.
PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION (END OF #FP1) #SpanishGP 🇪🇸 @ScuderiaFerrari on top after running softs pic.twitter.com/BNmJ5h1zKK
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 13, 2016
