EL1 – Bottas and Hamilton already at the forefront, hope for Leclerc

After Mugello and the Nürburgring for some, the drivers discovered a new track, that of Portimao. They therefore did not hesitate to storm the Portuguese tarmac to familiarize themselves with the track before the more important events of the weekend.

Without any real surprises, the Mercedes took the first two places on the timesheet this Friday morning. In the internal duel, it is Valtteri Bottas who gained the upper hand Lewis Hamilton. The Finn drove in 1'18"410 while his teammate was 339 thousandths slower.

As usual since the start of the season, Max Verstappen finished the session just behind the Silver Arrows. The pilot Red Bull set the third time almost eight tenths behind Valtteri Bottas.

On the Ferrari side, the developments made on the SF1000 seem to be working. Charles Leclerc showed himself to be the fastest man in Maranello with a nice fourth place, nine tenths from the lead even though he only wore the hard tires. Sebastian Vettel he remained behind. He only signed the eleventh time of the session.

Note the presence of Kimi Räikkönen in the Top 10. The Finn managed to raise his Alfa Romeo in eighth place just ahead Daniel Ricciardo (Renault) and Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri).

Complicated session on the other hand for Esteban Ocon (Renault). After being forced to get out of his car at the start of practice, the Habs returned to the track later but experienced a technical problem in the final moments. He finished only 19th, more than three seconds behind the best mark. Romain Grosjean (Haas), the third Frenchman on the grid, settled for 17th position.

Bottas on top 

The Mercedes pair lead the way in our first official session in Portugal since 1996#PortugueseGP  #F1 pic.twitter.com/lYa53jGj5y

— Formula 1 (@F1) October 23, 2020

The second practice session for the Portuguese Grand Prix is ​​scheduled for 16:00 p.m.