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Swami
Telly Talk Supreme
Spanish GP: Valtteri Bottas fastest as Mercedes dominate second practice
By Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer
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Listen to third practice live from 10:55 BST on Saturday on the BBC Sport website and app
Valtteri Bottas led Lewis Hamilton as Mercedes dominated second practice at the Spanish Grand Prix with a performance that will worry Ferrari.
Ferrari have introduced an upgraded engine in Barcelona as the pressure builds to take their first win of the season but lagged behind their rivals.
Charles Leclerc was 0.301 seconds off the pace, with Ferrari team-mate Sebastian Vettel 0.088secs adrift.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen was fifth fastest, 0.751secs slower than Bottas.
But 0.3secs is about the average advantage Mercedes have had on pace so far this season.
Chequered Flag podcast: Bottas 2.0? 'Nah, Hamilton will beat him'
Racing Point's Lance Stroll came off the track at turn nine in the closing stages of first practice
Behind the big three, Haas driver Romain Grosjean was best of the rest, ahead of team-mate Kevin Magnussen, McLaren's Carlos Sainz and the Toro Rosso of Daniil Kvyat, who was two places and 0.057secs ahead of Anglo-Thai rookie team-mate Alexander Albon.
British novice Lando Norris was 16th fastest for McLaren and George Russell was the faster Williams driver at the tail of the field, 0.590secs ahead of team-mate Robert Kubica.
Swami
By Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer
- 1 hour ago
- From the section Formula 1
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/48225987
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Listen to third practice live from 10:55 BST on Saturday on the BBC Sport website and app
Valtteri Bottas led Lewis Hamilton as Mercedes dominated second practice at the Spanish Grand Prix with a performance that will worry Ferrari.
Ferrari have introduced an upgraded engine in Barcelona as the pressure builds to take their first win of the season but lagged behind their rivals.
Charles Leclerc was 0.301 seconds off the pace, with Ferrari team-mate Sebastian Vettel 0.088secs adrift.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen was fifth fastest, 0.751secs slower than Bottas.
- Spanish Grand Prix first and second practice results
- Ayrton Senna 25 years on: Who would he drive for today?
- Spanish Grand Prix BBC coverage details
But 0.3secs is about the average advantage Mercedes have had on pace so far this season.
Chequered Flag podcast: Bottas 2.0? 'Nah, Hamilton will beat him'
Racing Point's Lance Stroll came off the track at turn nine in the closing stages of first practice
Behind the big three, Haas driver Romain Grosjean was best of the rest, ahead of team-mate Kevin Magnussen, McLaren's Carlos Sainz and the Toro Rosso of Daniil Kvyat, who was two places and 0.057secs ahead of Anglo-Thai rookie team-mate Alexander Albon.
British novice Lando Norris was 16th fastest for McLaren and George Russell was the faster Williams driver at the tail of the field, 0.590secs ahead of team-mate Robert Kubica.
Swami
Swami
Telly Talk Supreme
Spanish GP: Bottas beats Hamilton to pole
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Valtteri Bottas beat Lewis Hamilton to take his third pole position in a row and lead a Mercedes one-two in qualifying at the Spanish Grand Prix.
The Finn was 0.634 seconds ahead of Hamilton, who made a series of errors on his first lap before a slower track meant an improvement was impossible on the next.
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel was third, but his hopes of closing on Mercedes were dashed by a 0.866secs gap to Bottas.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen was fourth ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.
Bottas reaps a bounty
Bottas, who leads Hamilton in the championship by one point, set a superb one minute 15.406 seconds on his first run in final qualifying, while Hamilton had a mistake-strewn run.
He had wheelspin out of the final corner starting the lap, then ran wide out of Turn Seven, bouncing over the kerbs on the exit. And then he ran wide again at Turns 12 and 13.
By the time he did his second run, the track was slower, partly because of the gravel that Hamilton himself had deposited on the track in the final sector, and none of the top four improved.
Of the drivers in the top three teams, only Leclerc improved on his final lap, but that was because his qualifying session did not run to plan.
An error on his first run in second qualifying, running wide out of Turn Nine, meant he had to do a second run to progress into the top 10 shoot-out.
That left him short of new tyres, which meant he could only do one run in the final session.
What's in an F1 driver's seven-day-a-week fitness regime?
He opted to do two laps, taking it relatively cautiously on the first to set a 'banker' and then going harder on his second, by which time the tyres would have lost their edge, so matching Vettel was never going to be a possibility.
The 21-year-old ended up 0.316secs slower than his team-mate and 0.231secs down on Verstappen, who is likely to be a thorn in Ferrari's side in the race, as he has proved so often this year.
What they said
Bottas said: "Really enjoyed that. Enjoyed the adrenaline rush you get from those laps. It has started well the season. I feel better and better in the car and I am looking forward to tomorrow."
Hamilton said: "Valtteri did a fantastic job. He has been quick all weekend. On my side, I just didn't put the laps together. Ultimately, it just wasn't a good enough job."
Vettel said: "I just spoke to Valtteri. They were both very happy with the car. For us, a bit more tricky. I got everything out of the car on the first run, the second I had o try something a bit different and it didn't work.
"The car doesn't feel bad but obviously we are not quick enough. Overall, in those sorts of corners you just need the grip and I think we might be a bit down on that."
More to follow
Hulkenberg pays for a trip to the gravel trap, by trapping his front wing underneath his car
Valtteri Bottas never made it out of the gravel in final practice
Ferrari have an upgraded engine, aerodynamics... and plenty of work to do
Pierre Gasly lays down some rubber in his Red Bull
Swami
- 25 minutes ago
- From the section Formula 1
Copy this link
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/48238294
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Valtteri Bottas beat Lewis Hamilton to take his third pole position in a row and lead a Mercedes one-two in qualifying at the Spanish Grand Prix.
The Finn was 0.634 seconds ahead of Hamilton, who made a series of errors on his first lap before a slower track meant an improvement was impossible on the next.
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel was third, but his hopes of closing on Mercedes were dashed by a 0.866secs gap to Bottas.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen was fourth ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.
Bottas reaps a bounty
Bottas, who leads Hamilton in the championship by one point, set a superb one minute 15.406 seconds on his first run in final qualifying, while Hamilton had a mistake-strewn run.
He had wheelspin out of the final corner starting the lap, then ran wide out of Turn Seven, bouncing over the kerbs on the exit. And then he ran wide again at Turns 12 and 13.
By the time he did his second run, the track was slower, partly because of the gravel that Hamilton himself had deposited on the track in the final sector, and none of the top four improved.
Of the drivers in the top three teams, only Leclerc improved on his final lap, but that was because his qualifying session did not run to plan.
An error on his first run in second qualifying, running wide out of Turn Nine, meant he had to do a second run to progress into the top 10 shoot-out.
That left him short of new tyres, which meant he could only do one run in the final session.
What's in an F1 driver's seven-day-a-week fitness regime?
He opted to do two laps, taking it relatively cautiously on the first to set a 'banker' and then going harder on his second, by which time the tyres would have lost their edge, so matching Vettel was never going to be a possibility.
The 21-year-old ended up 0.316secs slower than his team-mate and 0.231secs down on Verstappen, who is likely to be a thorn in Ferrari's side in the race, as he has proved so often this year.
What they said
Bottas said: "Really enjoyed that. Enjoyed the adrenaline rush you get from those laps. It has started well the season. I feel better and better in the car and I am looking forward to tomorrow."
Hamilton said: "Valtteri did a fantastic job. He has been quick all weekend. On my side, I just didn't put the laps together. Ultimately, it just wasn't a good enough job."
Vettel said: "I just spoke to Valtteri. They were both very happy with the car. For us, a bit more tricky. I got everything out of the car on the first run, the second I had o try something a bit different and it didn't work.
"The car doesn't feel bad but obviously we are not quick enough. Overall, in those sorts of corners you just need the grip and I think we might be a bit down on that."
More to follow
Hulkenberg pays for a trip to the gravel trap, by trapping his front wing underneath his car
Valtteri Bottas never made it out of the gravel in final practice
Ferrari have an upgraded engine, aerodynamics... and plenty of work to do
Pierre Gasly lays down some rubber in his Red Bull
Swami
Swami
Telly Talk Supreme
Spanish GP: Hamilton beats Bottas in Spain
By Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/48240781
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Lewis Hamilton led Valtteri Bottas to the fifth consecutive Mercedes one-two at the start of this season after dominating the Spanish Grand Prix.
The world champion, who started second, passed Bottas into the first corner and eased away to an ultimately comfortable win, despite a late safety car.
A long way behind, Ferrari used team tactics yet again but lost out to Red Bull's Max Verstappen for third.
But a disheartening performance for the Italian team on a weekend they hoped would make a step forward only emphasised the sense that Mercedes are in a league of their own this year and that the championship fight is already a private one between Hamilton and Bottas.
Hamilton, with three wins to the Finn's two and a point for fastest lap from Spain to add to his tally, leads Bottas by seven points and their closest rival, Verstappen, is a massive 46 points behind, with Vettel a further two adrift, and Leclerc 10 behind him.
Mercedes' lead is not far off two clear wins, at 25 points for a victory, and the size of the advantage at just about the quarter-way mark of a 21-race season underlines Mercedes' superiority.
Vettel very nearly took the lead off the start, but damaged a tyre under braking, which compromised his whole race
Mercedes in a world of their own
An aerodynamic upgrade to the world champions' car for this race was said to be worth 0.4 seconds a lap and it more than compensated for both chassis and engine improvements by Ferrari.
Mercedes dominated the weekend, Bottas taking pole by 0.6secs after Hamilton had a messy qualifying session, and Hamilton controlling the race after making the better start, easing away in comfort.
The first corner was tense, with Hamilton, Bottas and Vettel three-wide on the entry, before Hamilton claimed the lead from the inside line and Vettel locked up on the outside and went into the run-off.
As the German rejoined, he ran team-mate Leclerc out of road, costing the Monegasque the third place he had just before claimed as Verstappen backed off to avoid running into the back of Bottas. Ferrari spent the rest of the race fighting a losing battle to reclaim that final podium place.
What's in an F1 driver's seven-day-a-week fitness regime?
Tense at Ferrari
It set the stage for a tense fight at Ferrari. Vettel was struggling in the early stages with a flat-spotted tyre, damaged at the first corner, and Leclerc was pressuring him hard.
Ferrari eventually ordered their nominal team leader to let Leclerc by and then Vettel had to make an earlier than planned pit stop, forcing him on to a two-stop strategy.
Red Bull put Verstappen on the same, while Leclerc was on a one-stop, and the question was which would prevail.
Later on, Leclerc had to return the favour to Vettel, who was behind him on softer tyres mid-race, as Ferrari sought to maximise their drivers' strategies.
The race was panning out to a climax with Verstappen and Vettel on fresher tyres fighting to pass Leclerc protecting third on older tyres in the closing laps.
But in the end, the safety car decided it. Lance Stroll's Racing Point and Lando Norris' McLaren tangled at the first corner, spreading debris all over the road.
Hamilton and Bottas came in for fresh tyres and behind them Leclerc had to follow suit, while Verstappen and Vettel behind him stayed out, as they had just stopped a couple of laps before.
That dropped Leclerc down to fifth and they ran that way to the end of the race.
Norris made contact with Stroll after trying to overtake the Canadian
Plenty of action further down
The fight in the closing laps was all about the midfield, with some hectic and wheel-banging action deciding the final points positions.
The Haas drivers nearly tangled before Kevin Magnussen moved clear into seventh behind Pierre Gasly's Red Bull, while his team-mate Romain Grosjean dropped back first behind McLaren's Carlos Sainz and Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat before battling to hold off Kvyat's team-mate Alexander Albon in the closing laps for the final point.
Driver of the day
Not the most gripping race. Hamilton, scrappy on Saturday, had too much for Bottas once he had claimed the lead at the start. But we'll give it to Verstappen for again taking the fight to Ferrari and beating them. He's becoming a real thorn in their side
What happens next?
Monaco. Usually not Mercedes territory, the track has favoured Red Bull and Ferrari in recent years. But Mercedes' pace in the slow corners at Barcelona suggests they will dominate again. Right now, it's hard to see anyone beating them.
Swami
By Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
- 3 hours ago
- From the section Formula 1
Copy this link
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/48240781
Read more about sharing.
Lewis Hamilton led Valtteri Bottas to the fifth consecutive Mercedes one-two at the start of this season after dominating the Spanish Grand Prix.
The world champion, who started second, passed Bottas into the first corner and eased away to an ultimately comfortable win, despite a late safety car.
A long way behind, Ferrari used team tactics yet again but lost out to Red Bull's Max Verstappen for third.
But a disheartening performance for the Italian team on a weekend they hoped would make a step forward only emphasised the sense that Mercedes are in a league of their own this year and that the championship fight is already a private one between Hamilton and Bottas.
Hamilton, with three wins to the Finn's two and a point for fastest lap from Spain to add to his tally, leads Bottas by seven points and their closest rival, Verstappen, is a massive 46 points behind, with Vettel a further two adrift, and Leclerc 10 behind him.
Mercedes' lead is not far off two clear wins, at 25 points for a victory, and the size of the advantage at just about the quarter-way mark of a 21-race season underlines Mercedes' superiority.
Vettel very nearly took the lead off the start, but damaged a tyre under braking, which compromised his whole race
Mercedes in a world of their own
An aerodynamic upgrade to the world champions' car for this race was said to be worth 0.4 seconds a lap and it more than compensated for both chassis and engine improvements by Ferrari.
Mercedes dominated the weekend, Bottas taking pole by 0.6secs after Hamilton had a messy qualifying session, and Hamilton controlling the race after making the better start, easing away in comfort.
The first corner was tense, with Hamilton, Bottas and Vettel three-wide on the entry, before Hamilton claimed the lead from the inside line and Vettel locked up on the outside and went into the run-off.
As the German rejoined, he ran team-mate Leclerc out of road, costing the Monegasque the third place he had just before claimed as Verstappen backed off to avoid running into the back of Bottas. Ferrari spent the rest of the race fighting a losing battle to reclaim that final podium place.
What's in an F1 driver's seven-day-a-week fitness regime?
Tense at Ferrari
It set the stage for a tense fight at Ferrari. Vettel was struggling in the early stages with a flat-spotted tyre, damaged at the first corner, and Leclerc was pressuring him hard.
Ferrari eventually ordered their nominal team leader to let Leclerc by and then Vettel had to make an earlier than planned pit stop, forcing him on to a two-stop strategy.
Red Bull put Verstappen on the same, while Leclerc was on a one-stop, and the question was which would prevail.
Later on, Leclerc had to return the favour to Vettel, who was behind him on softer tyres mid-race, as Ferrari sought to maximise their drivers' strategies.
The race was panning out to a climax with Verstappen and Vettel on fresher tyres fighting to pass Leclerc protecting third on older tyres in the closing laps.
But in the end, the safety car decided it. Lance Stroll's Racing Point and Lando Norris' McLaren tangled at the first corner, spreading debris all over the road.
Hamilton and Bottas came in for fresh tyres and behind them Leclerc had to follow suit, while Verstappen and Vettel behind him stayed out, as they had just stopped a couple of laps before.
That dropped Leclerc down to fifth and they ran that way to the end of the race.
Norris made contact with Stroll after trying to overtake the Canadian
Plenty of action further down
The fight in the closing laps was all about the midfield, with some hectic and wheel-banging action deciding the final points positions.
The Haas drivers nearly tangled before Kevin Magnussen moved clear into seventh behind Pierre Gasly's Red Bull, while his team-mate Romain Grosjean dropped back first behind McLaren's Carlos Sainz and Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat before battling to hold off Kvyat's team-mate Alexander Albon in the closing laps for the final point.
Driver of the day
Not the most gripping race. Hamilton, scrappy on Saturday, had too much for Bottas once he had claimed the lead at the start. But we'll give it to Verstappen for again taking the fight to Ferrari and beating them. He's becoming a real thorn in their side
What happens next?
Monaco. Usually not Mercedes territory, the track has favoured Red Bull and Ferrari in recent years. But Mercedes' pace in the slow corners at Barcelona suggests they will dominate again. Right now, it's hard to see anyone beating them.
Swami