@ValtteriBottas leads @MercedesAMG one-two in #PortugueseGP FP1. #F1

Valtteri Bottas lead from team-mate Lewis Hamilton in a Mercedes one-two in the opening FP1 session at the Portuguese GP as the drivers got to taste the Autodromo Internacional Do Algarve for the first time.

Ahead of the first Grand Prix in Portugal with the last one held in 1996 (at Estoril), opening practice saw drivers reporting a lack of grip at the Portimao Circuit.

But Bottas set the pace for Mercedes ahead of team-mate and championship leader Lewis Hamilton.

Bottas was sitting third on the time-sheets in the first runs on the C1 white-marked harder compounds in the early stages as Hamilton lead, but was able to jump his team-mate during the medium rubber runs that followed.

After sitting 0.143 seconds adrift of Hamilton’s time with his first flyer on the mediums, Bottas was able to post a 1:18.410 on his second hot-lap, which was good enough to take P1 at the end of the session.

Hamilton settled for second place and 0.339 seconds adrift of Bottas’ Portuguese GP FP1 benchmark with the Briton reporting graining on his tyres during his late running, echoing the messages from rival competitors.

Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen was third on the time-sheets with the Dutchman suffering an early spin in the green conditions and having a lap-time invalidated after exceeding track limits at the first corner.

Verstappen set an effort that was 0.781 seconds off off Bottas’ Portuguese GP FP1 benchmark time, and posted on the harder tyre.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc focused his practice programme on running the harder compound, and was high as second in the initial runs before ending the session fourth quickest on the classifications. The Monegasque-youngster also suffered a small spin at the penultimate corner, but recovered easily.

The second Red Bull of Alexander Albon rounded out the top five despite reporting instability in his Honda-powered RB16 racer through the low-speed corners. Both Red Bulls were seen to have emitted smoke at the rear of the car at times from the mid-point of the session.

McLaren’s Carlos Sainz was sixth quickest as the Woking-based squad evaluated it’s “hybrid package” update following it’s recent problems at the Eifel Grand Prix. The Spaniard finished in-front of Racing Point’s Sergio Perez who was seventh and Alfa Romeo Racing’s Kimi Raikkonen who took eighth.

Renault F1 Team’s Daniel Ricciardo ended opening practice in ninth and ahead of AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly who completed the top ten with the latter being told to pit due to an “issue with the car” with 20 minutes remaining in the session.

The other Ferrari SF1000 of Sebastian Vettel wound up 11th and in-front of McLaren’s 12th-placed Lando Norris and 13th-placed AlphaTauri of Daniil Kvyat.

Haas F1 Team’s Kevin Magnussen was 14th and ahead of Racing Point’s Lance Stroll who ended 15th with the latter returning to the cockpit of his RP20 following his illness and missing the Eifel Grand Prix.

Alfa Romeo Racing’s Antonio Giovinazzi finished 16th and in-front of the other Ferrari-powered VF-20 Haas entry of Romain Grosjean.

Williams Racing’s George Russell and Nicholas Latifi were 18th and at the rear respectively with Renault’s Esteban Ocon splitting the pairing in 19th as the latter was told to pit after the chequered flag due to a suspected gearbox issue.

The 90 minute session also saw drivers sampling the new Pirelli prototype compound for the 2021 season during the first half an hour of running.

You can read the full Formula 1 Heineken Grande Premio De Portugal 2020 Free Practice 1 Results Classification at the link: https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2020/races/1056/portugal.html

@RGrosjean and @KevinMagnussen part ways with @HaasF1Team at the end of 2020. #F1

#Formula1 Heineken #PortugueseGP 2020 Preview. #F1