2021 F1 Round 4 – Spanish Grand Prix FP1: Bottas fastest, Verstappen just 0.033s behind at his 100th Grand Prix for Red Bull, Kubica's gravel excursion brings out red flag

In the early evening of May 7, China Standard Time (UTC+8), the fourth round of the 2021 F1 World Championship, the Spanish Grand Prix, got under way at the Circuit de Catalunya on the outskirts of Barcelona. First practice lasted one hour, and Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas topped the opening session of the weekend with a time of 1:18.504.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was second, just 0.033 seconds behind; reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton, Bottas’ team-mate, was third, 0.123 seconds off the pace.

This was Verstappen’s 100th Grand Prix for Red Bull since joining the team at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix. After switching to soft tyres, he aborted his first flying lap because of traffic, so he was unable to exploit the tyres at their best. Yet he still posted a time just 0.033 seconds off the pace, an encouraging sign for the rest of the weekend.

In the sector times, Hamilton was fastest in sector one and Verstappen in sector three. Red Bull appeared to have opted for a higher-downforce setup.

It was sunny in Barcelona on Friday morning, and the session began in dry conditions with an air temperature of 21°C and a track temperature of 32°C. Official tyre supplier Pirelli brought the three hardest compounds in its range, C1 to C3, for this round.

Among the Honda-powered runners, AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly, who was unhappy with a setup that did not suit him, finished seventh, while Sergio Perez, who had vowed to fight for victory here, was ninth.

Yuki Tsunoda, who had struggled at Imola and the Algarve, ended the session 11th, 0.607 seconds behind his team-mate. The team told him that his pace was good up to Turn 10, but he was losing time in the final sector and needed to increase his corner-entry speed.

Shortly after the session went green, Nikita Mazepin (Haas) slid off the track at Turn 8 and into the gravel trap, but fortunately managed to get out and return under his own power.

Mazepin later switched back to his old seat because the new one made for this weekend did not fit properly, but his performance showed no improvement. He ended the session last in 20th, once again a full 1.21 seconds behind his 18th-placed team-mate Mick Schumacher.

The struggling Aston Martin team was gradually showing signs of life. Sebastian Vettel, who had received the upgrades a week later than his team-mate, was eighth, 0.1 seconds ahead of Perez, while Lance Stroll was tenth.

However, Vettel damaged his front wing on the kerb at Turn 7, while Verstappen also suffered damage to a wing element at almost the same spot.

McLaren introduced a new front wing and floor. The in-form Lando Norris was fourth, while Daniel Ricciardo, who had yet to adapt to the MCL35M, was down in 14th.

With gaps between team-mates frequently widening across the paddock, both Ferraris finished in the top 10: Charles Leclerc was fifth, 0.024 seconds ahead of Carlos Sainz.

Alfa Romeo fielded development driver Robert Kubica in the C41 in place of Kimi Raikkonen, but with 15 minutes remaining he spun into the gravel at Turn 10 and was left stranded. Race control brought out the red flag so the car could be recovered. Kubica finished 19th, while Antonio Giovinazzi was 13th.

At Williams, Roy Nissany replaced George Russell and finished 17th, 0.43 seconds behind his team-mate Nicholas Latifi.

Alpine, which had impressed with both cars scoring points at the previous round in Portugal, struggled somewhat in this session: Esteban Ocon was 12th, while Fernando Alonso, competing at home, was further back in only 15th.

Second practice took place at the same circuit on the evening of May 7, China Standard Time (UTC+8).