Bottas edges Verstappen, Hamilton struggles in F1 Portuguese GP FP1
The pair traded fastest lap times throughout a tight first 60-minute practice session at Portimao, with Bottas ultimately managing a 1m19.548s to end FP1 just 0.025s clear of Verstappen’s Red Bull.
Sergio Perez made it a Red Bull 2-3 with a late improvement to finish ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and championship leader Lewis Hamilton, who struggled for grip and balance on his way to finishing three-tenths off the pace in P5.
Tyre warm-up proved to be problematic in the low-grip conditions, with Verstappen reporting tyre vibrations that he said made it “impossible” to drive at times.
Pierre Gasly enjoyed a positive start to the weekend for AlphaTauri in sixth, while George Russell set an impressive lap time on Soft tyres to put his Williams seventh in the timesheets.
Lando Norris, Carlos Sainz and Esteban Ocon completed the rest of the top 10 order for McLaren, Ferrari and Alpine respectively.
There was little sign that Sebastian Vettel's early struggles to get up to speed at Aston Martin are coming to an end, with the four-time world champion a lowly 16th and half a second slower than his teammate Lance Stroll.
Ferrari junior Callum Ilott made his F1 practice debut for Alfa Romeo in Portugal, finishing 17th rand a respectable half a second adrift of Kimi Raikkonen.
The 2020 Formula 2 runner-up managed to set a faster time than Haas rookies Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin, as well as Williams driver Nikita Mazepin.
FULL RESULTS FROM OPENING PRACTICE FOR THE 2021 F1 PORTUGUESE GRAND PRIX.
