The fifth round of the 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship began with practice Friday at Circuit de Barcelona – Catalunya as teams prepared for the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday. Two 90-minute sessions – FP1 and FP2 – on the 4.655-kilometer track were run under sunny and comfortable, albeit windy, conditions.
Leading the way in FP1 was Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas, whose fast lap of 1:18.148 was .849 of a second better than the next quickest driver, his team mate Lewis Hamilton.
Bottas’ quick time in FP1 set a new track record, which broke the previous record by .89 of a second, set last year by Hamilton in the final round of qualifying. However, the fastest unofficial lap still belongs to Scuderia Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel, who set a time of 1:17.182 on March 8 during the penultimate day of preseason testing.
FP1 results
| 1. | V. Bottas | Mercedes | 01:18.148 | ||
| 2. | L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 01:18.997 | ||
| 3. | S. Vettel | Ferrari | 01:19.098 | ||
| 4. | M. Verstappen | Red Bull | 01:19.187 | ||
| 5. | K. Räikkönen | Ferrari | 01:19.499 | ||
| 6. | F. Alonso | McLaren | 01:19.858 | ||
| 7. | D. Ricciardo | Red Bull | 01:19.871 | ||
| 8. | R. Grosjean | Haas | 01:19.906 | ||
| 9. | S. Vandoorne | McLaren | 01:20.083 | ||
| 10. | P. Gasly | Toro Rosso | 01:20.508 | ||
| 11. | K. Magnussen | Haas | 01:20.637 | ||
| 12. | C. Leclerc | Sauber | 01:20.665 | ||
| 13. | S. Pérez | Force India | 01:20.924 | ||
| 14. | M. Ericsson | Sauber | 01:20.984 | ||
| 15. | C. Sainz Jr. | Renault | 01:21.053 | ||
| 16. | E. Ocon | Force India | 01:21.144 | ||
| 17. | N. Hulkenberg | Renault | 01:21.159 | ||
| 18. | B. Hartley | Toro Rosso | 01:21.373 | ||
| 19. | R. Kubica | Williams | 01:21.510 | ||
| 20. | L. Stroll | Williams | 01:22.756 |
Mercedes remained atop FP2, but it was Hamilton who proved quickest. His fast lap of 1:18.259 was .133 of a second faster than his nearest pursuer, Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull. And after being fastest in FP1, Bottas was fifth quick in FP2, .352 of a second arrears Hamilton.
FP2 results
| 1. | L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 01:18.259 | ||
| 2. | D. Ricciardo | Red Bull | 01:18.392 | ||
| 3. | M. Verstappen | Red Bull | 01:18.533 | ||
| 4. | S. Vettel | Ferrari | 01:18.585 | ||
| 5. | V. Bottas | Mercedes | 01:18.611 | ||
| 6. | K. Räikkönen | Ferrari | 01:18.829 | ||
| 7. | R. Grosjean | Haas | 01:19.579 | ||
| 8. | K. Magnussen | Haas | 01:19.643 | ||
| 9. | S. Vandoorne | McLaren | 01:19.722 | ||
| 10. | S. Pérez | Force India | 01:19.962 | ||
| 11. | E. Ocon | Force India | 01:20.024 | ||
| 12. | F. Alonso | McLaren | 01:20.035 | ||
| 13. | N. Hulkenberg | Renault | 01:20.183 | ||
| 14. | P. Gasly | Toro Rosso | 01:20.373 | ||
| 15. | M. Ericsson | Sauber | 01:20.501 | ||
| 16. | C. Leclerc | Sauber | 01:20.514 | ||
| 17. | C. Sainz Jr. | Renault | 01:20.672 | ||
| 18. | B. Hartley | Toro Rosso | 01:21.265 | ||
| 19. | L. Stroll | Williams | 01:21.556 | ||
| 20. | S. Sirotkin | Williams | 01:22.060 |
