© Vladimir RysFree Practice Update - Spanish Grand Prix 2021Round four is underway at the Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain.
We'rebackatwhatsomemaycallthehomeofwintertesting,theCircuitdeBarcelona-Catalunya.Well,ofcoursewedidn'ttestherethisyear,butit'stheoneplacewhereifthecargoeswellit'slikelytogowelleverywhere.
Spain Pre-Race Programme© Red Bull Racing Honda
Fresh from a podium in Portugal we've hopped across the border and up the east cost to the beautiful Barcelona for round four of the 2021 season.
It's a special track for both our drivers, with Max claiming his 2016 Spanish Grand Prix win on debut with the team. The Dutchman also claimed a handful of records with this win too, although we're sure you've heard us tell you that one before.
Checo also holds fond memories of this circuit, as in 2011 he scored his first points in F1 with a P9 finish with Sauber.
This weekend both Bulls will be hoping to create more memories as they got the Spanish Grand Prix underway with Friday's free practice sessions.
At the end of the hour's Free Practice One, Max brought his RB16B back in P2. He posted a 1.18.537 from a total of 19 laps. Checo finished the session in P9 with a time of 1:19.349. The Mexican completed 17 laps.
Friday afternoon's Free Practice Two saw Max finish in P9 after setting a best time of 1:18.785. The Dutchman managed 26 laps of the circuit. Checo came home in P10 with a 1:18.918 and 23 laps to his name.
For the final practice session, Free Practice Three, both Bulls delivered their best times of the weekend so far. Max finished P1 with a time of 1:17.835 and racked up 11 laps. Checo was P10 after setting a 1:18.606. He completed 16 laps.
Spanish Grand Prix 2021: Free Practice
Subtle Sparks For Practice© Getty Images
Pit Stop Practice Makes Perfect© Getty Images
Getting Set For The Spanish Session© Getty Images
Checo Laying Down Some Laps© Getty Images
Max-ing Out The Mediums In Practice© Getty Images
Focussed On Free Practice© Getty Images
Parking It Up For Free Practice© Getty Images
Testing Out The New Turn 10© Getty Images
Putting The Bull Through Its Paces© Getty Images
Max Brings It Back In P2 For FP1© Getty Images
Taking In The Data For Practice© Getty Images
Sergio Sparks In Spain© Getty Images
Sending It On A Soft Run© Getty Images
Overall I think we actually had quite a good day and the car seems pretty competitive.
“Overall I think we actually had quite a good day and the car seems pretty competitive. I was a little bit wide at Turn 10 on my push lap in FP2 but there is nothing shocking to report from either session. The track changes to Turn 10 seem better over one lap when you are pushing. It is a bit faster and more enjoyable to drive, but for overtaking I think it could be worse. How competitive we are going to be tomorrow is always going to be a question mark on a Friday but from our side we are quite happy. Of course you always want to improve and do better so we just have to make sure tomorrow that we are up there but I’m looking forward to it.”
“It was a tricky day today. We had a couple of delays in both sessions which meant we were rushing a little and running into some traffic, and with less practice time this year it’s important to get the laps in. Tonight we’ve got some understanding to do and pace to find, especially over one lap. I think our long run pace is stronger but there’s work to do. Let’s see what we can find because qualifying here is especially important. Hopefully we can recover the pace and be in the mix tomorrow.”
| Position | Driver | Team | Time | | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Valtteri Bottas | Max Verstappen | Lewis Hamilton | Lando Norris | Charles Leclerc | Carlos Sainz | Pierre Gasly | Sebastain Vettel | Sergio Pérez | Lance Stroll |
| Mercedes | Red Bull Racing Honda | Mercedes | McLaren | Ferrari | Ferarri | AlphaTauri | Aston Martin | Red Bull Racing Honda | Aston Martin |
| 1.18.504 | 1.18.537 | 1.18.627 | 1.18.944 | 1.18.996 | 1.19.020 | 1.19.062 | 1.19.234 | 1.19.349 | 1.19.429 |
| Position | Driver | Team | Time | | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Lewis Hamilton | Valtteri Bottas | Charles Leclerc | Esteban Ocon | Fernando Alonso | Pierre Gasly | Yuki Tsunoda | Carlos Sainz | Max Verstappen | Sergio Pérez |
| Mercedes | Mercedes | Ferrari | Alpine | Alpine | AlphaTauri | AlphaTauri | Ferarri | Red Bull Racing Honda | Red Bull Racing Honda |
| 1.18.170 | 1.18.309 | 1.18.335 | 1.18.466 | 1.18.518 | 1.18.593 | 1.18.619 | 1.18.674 | 1.18.785 | 1.18.918 |
| Position | Driver | Team | Time | | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Max Verstappen | Lewis Hamilton | Charles Leclerc | Carlos Sainz | Valtteri Bottas | Lando Norris | Pierre Gasly | Daniel Ricciardo | Kimi Räikkönen | Sergio Pérez |
| Red Bull Racing Honda | Mercedes | Ferrari | Ferarri | Mercedes | McLaren | AlphaTauri | McLaren | Alfa Romeo | Red Bull Racing Honda |
| 1.17.835 | 1.18.070 | 1.18.308 | 1.18.410 | 1.18.423 | 1.18.494 | 1.18.535 | 1.18.582 | 1.18.597 | 1.18.606 |
