Bottas quickest in Barcelona practice
Valtteri Bottas set the pace in the first GP3 practice session of the weekend at Barcelona
The ART Grand Prix driver was one of several runners to wait until the second half of the session before setting a representative time. But once he went quickest after 22 minutes, he remained there until the end.
The Finn's best lap came during a flurry of activity in the middle of the 30-minute session where most of the best times were set. There were very few improvements in the closing stages, partly due to drivers struggling to get clear track as they all backed off in the final sector of the lap and held each other up.
Mitch Evans enjoyed a brief spell at the top before Bottas relegated him to second, but the MW Arden driver would not be beaten by anyone else. James Calado was only fractions slower than Evans, and the Briton made it two ART cars in the top three.
Rio Haryanto was fourth quickest, ahead of the session's early pacesetter Lewis Williamson. The McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC Award winner was one of the only drivers to get to work on setting quick times in the first part of practice, and he set a sequence of laps that were good enough to lead the way in the first 15 minutes.
Dean Smith made it three Brits in the top six, ahead of championship frontrunners Andrea Caldarelli and Nigel Melker.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Valtteri Bottas ART 1m38.726s 2. Mitch Evans MW Arden 1m38.834s + 0.108s 3. James Calado ART 1m38.864s + 0.138s 4. Rio Haryanto Manor 1m39.128s + 0.402s 5. Lewis Williamson MW Arden 1m39.169s + 0.443s 6. Dean Smith Addax 1m39.202s + 0.476s 7. Andrea Caldarelli Tech 1 1m39.271s + 0.545s 8. Nigel Melker RSC Mucke 1m39.305s + 0.579s 9. Aaro Vainio Tech 1 1m39.310s + 0.584s 10. Pedro Nunes ART 1m39.444s + 0.718s 11. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs Manor 1m39.447s + 0.721s 12. Matias Laine Manor 1m39.522s + 0.796s 13. Michael Christensen RSC Mucke 1m39.569s + 0.843s 14. Tamas Pal Kiss Tech 1 1m39.719s + 0.993s 15. Marlon Stockinger Atech CRS 1m39.788s + 1.062s 16. Vittorio Ghirelli Jenzer 1m39.924s + 1.198s 17. Nick Yelloly Atech CRS 1m39.950s + 1.224s 18. Alexander Sims Status 1m39.956s + 1.230s 19. Gabby Chaves Addax 1m40.010s + 1.284s 20. Nico Muller Jenzer 1m40.185s + 1.459s 21. Zoel Amberg Atech CRS 1m40.240s + 1.514s 22. Daniel Morad Carlin 1m40.241s + 1.515s 23. Leonardo Cordeiro Carlin 1m40.325s + 1.599s 24. Simon Trummer MW Arden 1m40.359s + 1.633s 25. Conor Daly Carlin 1m40.410s + 1.684s 26. Luciano Bacheta RSC Mucke 1m40.538s + 1.812s 27. Dominic Storey Addax 1m40.623s + 1.897s 28. Ivan Lukashevich Status 1m45.791s + 7.065s 29. Maxim Zimin Jenzer 1m50.154s + 11.428s 30. Antonio Felix da Costa Status
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