Spain – Free Practice 1: Hamilton at ease, Rosberg and Vettel stuck in the garage

The sun is shining and the fans are singing in the stands! Formula 1 is back in Europe, at the Circuit de Catalunya. For this first free practice session, Felipe Nasr (No. 40) is replacing Valtteri Bottas at Williams and Giedo van der Garde (No. 36) is replacing Esteban Gutierrez at Sauber.

The session begins and Marcus Ericsson (Caterham) is the first on track, quickly followed by most drivers to complete their installation lap. Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso) is the first driver to set a time, with 1:36.471, but calm quickly returns on the track.

After 20 minutes, the times drop below 1:30 for Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) and Nico Rosberg (Mercedes). An astonishing image on the part of Sergio Pérez (Force India) as his left mirror detached, and he had to hold it before returning to the pits to fix it.

As the first half hour approaches, Sebastian Vettel’s Red Bull comes to a stop on the track. The weekend starts poorly for the German driver who has changed chassis this weekend, reverting to his first chassis tested during pre-season. He has completed only 4 laps. He personally helps to push the RB10 to the escape road and handles the fire extinguisher to cool down the engine.

After 30 minutes, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg are at the front, separated by 140 thousandths, they lead Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) by six tenths; the same gap for Fernando Alonso, in provisional 4th place. Jenson Button (McLaren) completes the top 5. On the pit wall of the Woking team, Sam Michael, Eric Boullier, and Ron Dennis are in discussion, at the same time, the underbody of Rosberg’s Mercedes is being dismantled: possibly a technical problem for the German.

As the last half-hour approaches, things get a bit livelier on the track after a long period without improvements. The drivers go under the 1:28 mark: 1:27.891 for Button, who takes the lead, and 1:27.973 for Ricciardo.

30 minutes to the checkered flag, Button leads Ricciardo, Hamilton, Alonso, and Rosberg; the latter is still stuck in the pits. Adrian Sutil has a scare in a fast section but keeps control of his Sauber C33. Braking problem next for the other Sauber driven by Van der Garde: the Dutchman goes straight on at the first corner and manages to avoid the tire wall. « Brake problem! Ouch ouch ouch ouch! » he shouted over the radio.

As Luca di Montezemolo arrives in the paddock and Sebastian Vettel eats an apple at the back of the Red Bull garage, we witness another small issue with the aerodynamic elements, this time at Red Bull, as a flap has come loose on one side, without serious concern. Lewis Hamilton, who was in a position to retake the lead in this session (eight-tenths ahead in S2), decided to slow down considerably in the final sector.

With five minutes remaining, Hamilton finally takes the lead, with times of 1:27.109 then 1:27.023, eight-tenths ahead of Button. « The rear tires really suffered » he indicates to his pit. The drivers have only used the hard (orange) tires during this FP1. The Circuit de Catalunya is extremely demanding.

Session over: Lewis Hamilton leads Jenson Button and Daniel Ricciardo.