Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes topped the timesheets in the first practice session for the Spanish Grand Prix, with his team-mate Valtteri Bottas not far behind in second.
Just 0.029 seconds separated the two Mercedes drivers during the session. Their rivals Ferrari were nearly one second slower, with Kimi Raikkonen third fastest and Sebastian Vettel just under two tenths slower in fourth.
While Vettel spent most of the session in the pits after breaking down early into the session, we saw Raikkonen and the two Mercedes drivers swapping fastest laps. However by the end of the session there was a noticeable gap between the two teams.
The season takes another bad turn for Fernando Alonso and McLaren, with the Spaniard breaking down on his first lap out on the circuit less than 15 minutes into the session. The car was visibly leaking liquid after breaking down and while being taken off the circuit.
The top eight had both Red Bull and Haas drivers in pairs similar to the top four. Max Verstappen led Daniel Ricciardo in fifth, with the Dutch driver looking unlikely to be able to replicate his form in last season’s Spanish Grand Prix where he won the race.
Kevin Magnussen ended the session seventh for Haas with Romain Grosjean less than one tenth behind in eighth. Magnussen broke down during the final ten minutes of the session. causing a short stint of yellow flags and a virtual safety car.
Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg was ninth fastest while Carlos Sainz in the Toro Rosso rounded off the top ten, 2.483 seconds behind the fastest time set by Lewis Hamilton.
