Bottas was fastest in the first practice sessions ahead of Hamilton. A drive problem slows Red Bull driver Verstappen.
The Mercedes duo set the pace on the first day of Formula 1 training for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola. Valtteri Bottas was twice the fastest on Friday by a narrow margin over world champion Lewis Hamilton. The comparison between the Mercedes drivers and Max Verstappen only took place in the first session, in the afternoon the Red Bull driver had to surrender after ten of the 60 minutes available.
A drive problem had stopped Verstappen, which cost him valuable time preparing for qualifying and the race. In the first training session, the Dutchman finished third, 58 thousandths of a second behind Bottas. The Finn, in turn, was 41 thousandths faster than Hamilton in the first session, and a hundredth in the second.
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A clean Friday sweep for @ValtteriBottas 💪 # ImolaGP 🇮🇹 # F1 pic.twitter.com/TcNcQ1nVAV
– Formula 1 (@ F1) April 16, 2021
In the morning, training had to be interrupted for a good 20 minutes after Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon got into each other's enclosure. The Mexican had a tire damage on the Red Bull, the French in the Alpine had a broken front suspension. The pilots were unscathed.
