FP1: Bottas beats Ferrari to lead first practice session

  • Published on 10 May 2019 12:30
  • comments 0
  • By: Fergal Walsh

Valtteri Bottas has topped the opening practice session of the weekend, beating Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel to the top spot.

Bottas seemed to struggle at Turn 12 during the 90 minutes but managed to string a lap together on the soft tyres to post a 1:17.951, which was just over one-tenth faster than Vettel's time.

Vettel's teammate Charles Leclerc was in third place, two-tenths down on Bottas. The second Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton was fourth, with the times reading a big gap to his teammate.

Upgraded Haas heads the midfield

Romain Grosjean ended the session in fifth place, under a second down on Bottas. The Frenchman was the only Haas running upgrades, as Magnussen kept the old specs for FP1.

Magnussen was seventh, over two-tenths down on his teammate, with Carlos Sainz separating the two American cars.

Pierre Gasly was the only Red Bull inside the top ten, as he headed Daniil Kvyat and Nico Hulkenberg, who rounded out the top ten in the Renault.

Stroll ends the session in the barriers

Lance Stroll was the only driver to find the barriers during the session, as he crashed at Turn 9 at the top of the hill.

The Canadian admitted over the radio that he touched the grass on the entry, which unstabled the car and sent him into the wall. 

The session ended under a red flag, as the crash occurred in the final moments. The Racing Point went in head first, damaging the front wing and the suspension.

Leak problems for Verstappen, Bottas

Max Verstappen's session ended early when Red Bull uncovered a leak, which forced the energy drink squad to remove the floor and inspect the cause.

Bottas also seemed to have a similar problem in the final minutes, as his car was too raised up with mechanics mopping the floor underneath.

Verstappen finished up in 12th, one place behind teammate Daniel Ricciardo. Stroll, who took the long way back to the paddock, was 13th ahead of Antonio Giovinazzi

Alexander Albon was ahead of his former Formula 2 rival Lando Noris for 15th, while Sergio Perez and Kimi Raikkonen followed the two rookies.

As has been the case so far in 2019, Williams concluded the timesheets with Robert Kubica beating George Russell.

ES Circuit de Catalunya - 10 May 2019

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