Formula 1

Algarve FP1: Everything you need to know

by Valentin Khorounzhiy
2 min read

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Valtteri Bottas was fastest in the first Formula 1 practice session of the weekend at Portimao, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in second.


Key moments:

> Verstappen complains of severe vibrations aboard his Red Bull
> Hamilton unhappy with balance in his Mercedes
> Russell seventh fastest for Williams
> Ilott 17th-quickest in first FP1


Bottas topped FP1 for the second consecutive round with a 1m19.648s ahead of F1’s second-ever grand prix at the Portuguese circuit.

Verstappen was just 0.025 seconds slower than Bottas in second place despite complaining of vibration issues aboard his Red Bull in the closing stages of the session.

Bottas’ team-mate Hamilton wasn’t happy with his car balance either, labelling the Mercedes “undriveable” after his first practice run.

Set-up changes were made to Hamilton’s car and he ended up 0.319s off his team-mate in fifth place.

Sergio Perez sat in the garage for the first third of the session but he still managed to go third-quickest for Red Bull, within two tenths of his team-mate Verstappen.

Charles Leclerc rounded out the top four for Ferrari – the same position he finished last year’s Portuguese GP in.

AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly was sixth-quickest behind Hamilton, while George Russell was an impressive seventh-fastest for Williams.

The top 10 was completed by McLaren’s Lando Norris, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and the Alpine of Esteban Ocon.

Callum Ilott was 17th-fastest on his FP1 debut – having previously been set to drive for Haas in Nurburgring’s opening practice session last year before it was cancelled due to poor weather.

F2 2020 runner-up Ilott was 0.425s slower than his Alfa Romeo team-mate Kimi Raikkonen.

Haas drivers Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher almost came together at Turn 1, with Mazepin unaware that his team-mate was going for a second consecutive flying lap. Schumacher was 18th-fastest, while Mazepin was slowest of all.

Practice 1 Results

Pos Name Car Best Time Gap Leader
1 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1m19.648s
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull-Honda 1m19.673s +0.025s
3 Sergio Pérez Red Bull-Honda 1m19.846s +0.198s
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1m19.884s +0.236s
5 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m19.967s +0.319s
6 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri-Honda 1m20.444s +0.796s
7 George Russell Williams-Mercedes 1m20.529s +0.881s
8 Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes 1m20.635s +0.987s
9 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1m20.68s +1.032s
10 Esteban Ocon Alpine-Renault 1m20.8s +1.152s
11 Lance Stroll Aston Martin-Mercedes 1m20.894s +1.246s
12 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren-Mercedes 1m20.995s +1.347s
13 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri-Honda 1m21.09s +1.442s
14 Fernando Alonso Alpine-Renault 1m21.303s +1.655s
15 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 1m21.381s +1.733s
16 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin-Mercedes 1m21.405s +1.757s
17 Callum Ilott Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 1m21.806s +2.158s
18 Mick Schumacher Haas-Ferrari 1m21.939s +2.291s
19 Nicholas Latifi Williams-Mercedes 1m22.293s +2.645s
20 Nikita Mazepin Haas-Ferrari 1m24.224s +4.576s
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