Spanish Grand Prix – Free Practice 1: Mercedes on top, Vettel doing better

Return for F1 to the Barcelona circuit for the first time since winter testing at the end of February. As a reminder, the best time was set by Hamilton at 1:15.732 in very cool conditions. This time will not be beaten, the best time of this session is set by Bottas at 1:16.785 ahead of his teammate.

This session also marks the return of Sergio Perez who tested negative for coronavirus and is resuming his position as a starter.

A new chassis was installed on Vettel’s car, and he is testing it with Kiel probes as soon as the session opens. A modification that seems to be paying off, the driver feels more comfortable in his car, and it shows on the stopwatch. The German driver drove lap times similar to his teammate’s.

It took about twenty minutes before Bottas set the first timed lap at 1:18.575 on medium tires. Ricciardo and Perez complete the podium at +0.7s on soft tires. Hamilton worked on hard tires and is running +0.5s from his teammate.

Roy Nissany drove in place of Russell and is lapping in Latifi’s times. Kvyat was stationary until mid-session while his team worked on his pedal box and set his first lap in 1:20.078 with the 15th position. His teammate Gasly experienced a front suspension change 30 minutes before the end of the session.

The second part of the session focused on long stints on all types of tires and fast laps for the Mercedes, with Bottas setting a new mark at 1:16.785 ahead of Hamilton by +0.039s. The Ferraris secured the 3rd and 4th positions, +1.1s behind the Mercedes, but both Scuderia drivers are within the same tenth, a rare occurrence worth noting given Vettel’s challenges since the start of the season.

A chasm has opened between Verstappen and Albon. The Dutch driver clocked a lap in 1:17.724 while Albon only managed 1:18.606, almost 1s slower. The Haas team found the right car settings with Grosjean in 6th and Magnussen in 9th, admittedly 1.5s behind, but they are ahead of their competitors.

McLarens are in the middle of the pack, AlphaTauris are 14th and 17th separated by Alfa Romeos. Ricciardo’s performance in this session is disappointing, only securing the 18th place with a time of 1:19.230.