MONTMELO – Valtteri Bottas posted the fastest time in the first practice for the Spanish Grand Prix ahead of Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton on Friday.The Finnish driver was .039 quicker than championship leader Hamilton and about 1 second ahead of Max Verstappen, who leapfrogged Bottas into second place in the standings after winning last Sunday's race at Silverstone.There was an encouraging improvement for Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, who placed fifth behind his teammate Charles Leclerc.
Ferrari changed the chassis on Vettel's car following a dismal run of form.Sergio Pérez was seventh for Racing Point after recovering from the coronavirus and testing negative.