Portuguese Grand Prix – Free Practice 1: Bottas Takes the Lead
Valtteri Bottas set the fastest time in the first practice session of the Portuguese Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen complete the top 3.
For the very first free practice session in the history of F1 at the Portimao circuit, history will remember that it was the Spanish driver Carlos Sainz (McLaren) who was the first driver to set a time of 1:20.696.
A very slippery track!
The track, not well-known to the drivers, proves to be very slippery, especially with hard tires. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) even spins during his first flying lap attempt.
Max Verstappen gets swapped up at Turn 4 ????
The buttery smooth surface at @AIAPortimao is catching a few drivers out, as they get a feeling for this new venue#PortugueseGP ???????? #F1 pic.twitter.com/MywGcqUXhI
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 23, 2020
The majority of the drivers go out on hard tires at the beginning of the session to do as many laps as possible to learn the circuit and the track limits, especially at turns 1, 4, and 15.
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) is the first of the leading drivers to set a benchmark time of 1:19.526. At this moment, he is ahead of a strong Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) by a tenth and his teammate Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) by over 4 tenths.
The Mercedes drivers exchange the lead several times. Bottas reacts and regains the lead, not without a little scare at turn 3, quickly beaten by his six-time world champion teammate. But the Finnish driver insists and sets a 1:18.410, putting him at the top of the standings. Verstappen is 3rd.
Complicated session for the French drivers
On the French side, a complicated session for Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) who stops 20 minutes before the end of the session due to a mechanical problem.
On his side, Esteban Ocon (Renault) finished the session with smoke coming from the rear of his car. A difficult session for the Norman, ranked 19th just ahead of Nicholas Latifi (Williams). Romain Grosjean, evicted from Haas at the end of the season, is two spots higher, in 17th place.
A smokey end to the session for Esteban Ocon ????
He’s instructed not to change gears as he returns to the pits#PortugueseGP ???????? #F1 pic.twitter.com/I5wV6hYVz7
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 23, 2020
Here is the complete classification of this FP1 in Portimao:
N° | Driver | Team | Times | Gap | Laps |
1 | Bottas | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport | 1:18.410 | 35 | |
2 | Hamilton | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport | 1:18.749 | +0.339 | 35 |
3 | Verstappen | Aston Martin Red Bull Racing | 1:19.191 | +0.781 | 32 |
4 | Leclerc | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:19.309 | +0.899 | 33 |
5 | Albon | Aston Martin Red Bull Racing | 1:19.365 | +0.955 | 34 |
6 | Sainz Jr. | McLaren F1 Team | 1:19.441 | +1.031 | 42 |
7 | Perez | BWT Racing Point F1 Team | 1:19.907 | +1.497 | 31 |
8 | Räikkönen | Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN | 1:19.954 | +1.544 | 34 |
9 | Ricciardo | Renault DP World F1 Team | 1:20.058 | +1.648 | 27 |
10 | Gasly | Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda | 1:20.124 | +1.714 | 29 |
11 | Vettel | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:20.200 | +1.790 | 37 |
12 | Norris | McLaren F1 Team | 1:20.207 | +1.797 | 29 |
13 | Kvyat | Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda | 1:20.278 | +1.868 | 32 |
14 | Magnussen | Haas F1 Team | 1:20.846 | +2.436 | 28 |
15 | Stroll | BWT Racing Point F1 Team | 1:20.954 | +2.544 | 32 |
16 | Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN | 1:21.009 | +2.599 | 35 |
17 | Grosjean | Haas F1 Team | 1:21.169 | +2.759 | 31 |
18 | Russell | Williams Racing | 1:21.374 | +2.964 | 31 |
19 | Ocon | Renault DP World F1 Team | 1:21.673 | +3.263 | 31 |
20 | Latifi | Williams Racing | 1:22.064 | +3.654 | 34 |
