Montmeló (Spain) (AFP)

In the Mercedes-Verstappen duel, Barcelona first smiled at Mercedes: the German team dominated the first free practice of the Spanish Grand Prix on Friday with a caveat, the Dutch driver not having set a time wearing the tires. faster.

In 1 min 18 sec 170/1000, it was Briton Lewis Hamilton who set the best time of the day in free practice 2, 139/1000 ahead of his teammate Valtteri Bottas and 165/1000 ahead of Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) .

"It's a good start to the weekend," enthuses the seven-time world champion, looking for a record eighth crown.

"It looks tight but we had a good pace today."

Admittedly, Verstappen's Red Bull is only ninth in Hamilton's FP2 615/1000, a driving error and its broken front wing preventing it from giving its full potential on the softer tires.

In the first practice session, however, the Dutchman placed second at 33/1000 behind the fastest Bottas, which bodes well for another wheel-to-wheel clash with the Mercedes.

"Overall, I think our day was pretty good and the car is quite competitive," sweeps the Red Bull driver.

"I went out a bit wide at Turn 10 on my quick lap 2 in Free Practice 2 but there is nothing dramatic to take away from the two sessions."

After three rounds (two won by Hamilton, one by Verstappen), the drivers' classification reflects the closeness between the two men: the British veteran leads the ambitious Dutchman by barely eight lengths.

Among manufacturers, Mercedes scored 18 points more than Red Bull, which is more linked to the results of their second drivers (Bottas and the Mexican Sergio Pérez, who is still discovering his car) than at the intrinsic level of their cars .

The Austrian team have indeed started the season at a slightly higher pace but their German rivals are well on their way to catching up with them, if they haven't already.

"We have a better understanding of the car and the direction in which we have to go," Hamilton confirms.

- Attention, capital pole -

Business resumes in free practice 3 Saturday at 12:00 p.m. (10:00 a.m. GMT), before qualifying at 3:00 p.m. (1:00 p.m.).

On the Barcelona-Catalonia circuit, not very conducive to overtaking, these are crucial: in 22 GPs out of 30, the winner started from pole position!

In the remaining eight, only three winners were not in the front row.

The worst placed on the grid, Spaniard Fernando Alonso in 2013, was fifth.

Also in the statistics department, during the last seven editions, Mercedes has taken pole as many times and won six times.

Only Verstappen broke that hegemony in 2016, for his first F1 victory, and he is again in the best position to do so this year.

Behind them, Ferrari seems to have the advantage over Alpine in progress (with Esteban Ocon 4th in free practice 2 and Fernando Alonso 5th) and McLaren half fig, half grape (Lando Norris 12th and Daniel Ricciardo 15th) but who often win in performance on Saturdays.

Annoyed by his AlphaTauri last week in Portugal, the Frenchman Pierre Gasly, 6th, has found a pace more in line with his ambitions but he is not satisfied with his feelings.

The Aston Martin, they continue to nibble their delay at the start of the season.

"We have taken a step forward," said German Sebastian Vettel.

© 2021 AFP