Posted on 12 May 2017. Tags: 2017, carlos sainz, circuit de catalunya, daniel ricciardo, daniil kvyat, f1, fernando alonso, ferrari, force india, Formula 1, haas, kevin magnussen, kimi raikkonen, lewis hamilton, maar verstappen, mclaren, mercedes, Pascal Wehrlein, pirelli, red bull, renault, romain grosjean, sauber, sebastian vettel, spain, stoffel vandoorne, toro rosso, Valtteri Bottas
Lewis Hamilton led the way from his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas in the first free practice session of the Spanish grand prix.
The ninety-minute session was topped by Hamilton’s 1:21:521 which was 29 thousands quicker than Bottas’ P2 time. The two Ferrari’s followed in third and fourth with Raikkonen setting a 1:22:456 ahead of Vettel, on a 1:22:600.
Early in the session Fernando Alonso’s McLaren spectacularly expired after only a half a lap out of the pitlane. The team reported a rather obvious engine failure while Alonso left the circuit for a round of tennis. The Renault of Sergey Sirotkin suffered a water leak which limited his running in the session to only ten laps.
While several teams utilized the session to evaluate new upgrades and updates to their cars it remains to be seen what sort of impact these new updates will have on the pecking order.
Final Free Practice 1 Standings:
About Natalie Le Clue
Natalie Le Clue is an F1 aficionado of the most dedicated vein. And, true to form for any F1-enamoured junkie, she readily admits to crying the first time she saw a F1 car, calling it an ‘overwhelming moment’. Natalie has won the 2010 gSport Woman In Media award, the 2015 Woman In Media Print award, and has been named as one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in South African Sport by the Department of Sport and Recreation. Natalie is currently serving as SAfm's F1 correspondent. Follow Natalie on Twitter @nlc27
