F1 GP Spain, free practice 1: Bottas and Hamilton set the pace in the first hour and a half of work

Best time for Valtteri Bottas in the first free practice session valid for the Spanish Grand Prix, fifth round of the 2018 Formula One World Championship. The Finn, author of an excellent morning aboard the W09 EQ-Power+, closed the first hour and a half of work with a time of 1'18"148, eight tenths faster than his teammate, Lewis Hamilton. A truly surprising start for Valtteri, especially given the pace shown on the soft compounds.

It should be noted that Mercedes, at least as regards this morning's session, has chosen to diversify the work among its drivers, sending the reigning World Champion out on track with medium compounds. The indications, precisely in this sense, have been absolutely positive and it is reasonable to expect a truly competitive Mercedes here in Spain. Third position for Sebastian Vettel, about nine tenths off the top, followed by Max Verstappen, Kimi Raikkonen, Fernando Alonso and Daniel Ricciardo. It should be noted that Ferrari, unlike Mercedes, did not try to attack the time, dedicating itself to the development of the new components brought to Barcelona.

We are obviously talking about the new floor (initially mounted by Vettel and subsequently installed on Raikkonen's car) and the new seagull mirrors. Both riders ran on super soft tyres, highlighting a large consumption of the softer compound present here at Montmelò. FP2, however, will give more precise indications in this sense. Romain Grosjean, Stoffel Vandoorne and Pierre Gasly complete the top ten. It should be noted that the wind characterized the first hour and a half of work, with several riders ending up on the gravel or even against the wall. One of these, surprisingly, was Ricciardo, who went wide in turn 5 and was forced to end the session early due to a broken left front suspension.

The same goes for Lance Stroll, even if the Williams standard-bearer managed to stop the car prematurely, avoiding impact with the barriers. Note of honor for Robert Kubica, protagonist of a very concrete FP1 and author of a time of 1'21"510, one second and two faster than his teammate. Appointment at 15pm, again from Barcelona, ​​for the second free practice session from the Montmelò track.

The Mercedes pair lead the way in FP1 morning in Barcelona

As Kubica beats his teammate on his Grand Prix weekend return 💪#F1 🇪🇸 #SpanishGP pic.twitter.com/BsDVR0p12Q

- Formula 1 (@ F1) 11 May 2018