F1 Spanish GP Live Updates - final practice and qualifying
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Checkered flag
It also brings an end to FP3 which sees Hamilton top the session from Bottas with Verstappen in third place.
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So time for a breather, unless you are a Renault mechanic in which case you just lost your lunch break, with qualifying getting underway at 14:00 BST (15:00 local time).
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Hello once again and good afternoon ahead of qualifying for the Spanish GP!
Quick update on the strange end to FP3 which saw Ocon crash at Turn 3 after almost hitting Magnussen, which has been put down to "an unfortunate accident" by the FIA stewards.
Here's the full story on the Ocon/Magnussen incident from final practice: 
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So, qualifying. All-important at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya given the track can be a tricky place to overtake so gaining a strong grid position will be vital. Mercedes duo Hamilton and Bottas have dominated practice with a hat-trick of 1-2 finishes, with the Brit leading FP2 and FP3.
Verstappen remains the closest challenger to Mercedes and will be looking to pull off another upset having claimed victory last time out at the 70th Anniversary GP.
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Race control has confirmed "blue head padding material must be used", which is good to know. Not sure if it will impact qualifying much, but there you go.
The air temperature is reaching 31oC with the track temperature at 49oC. Hot enough to make those soft tyres suffer towards the end of a lap. There's also no chance of rain this afternoon.
Green flag
The green flag is shown to start Q1, here we go!
Latifi and Russell head out early for Williams looking to take advantage of any empty track. Traffic is likely to be a major issue in Q1, especially with drivers easing off around the final sector ahead of a timed lap.
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Stopwatch
Latifi, who is yet to out-qualify Russell this season, sets the quicker first timed lap with a 1m19.231s against his team-mate's 1m19.560s.
Here come the Mercedes pair along with Verstappen, Leclerc, Stroll and Norris. Q1 is about to get busy.
Stopwatch
Verstappen goes top with a 1m17.415s - a flurry of timed efforts coming up now...
Stopwatch
Verstappen is duly shuffled back to P3 by the Mercedes duo as Hamilton puts in a 1m17.037s to take top spot and push Bottas into second.
Stopwatch
Here come the Racing Points, as Perez - back in action after missing the last two races due to positive COVID-19 tests - goes P2 less than one-tenth off Hamilton. He'll definitely be positive about that, as team-mate Stroll moves into P3 directly behind him.
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A Turn 2 incident between Magnussen and Kvyat has been noted by race control.
After those first Q1 runs the drivers in the drop zone are: Grosjean, Raikkonen, Magnussen, Latifi and Giovinazzi.
TV replays catch Giovinazzi running very wide at the final corner which explains why he asked his Alfa Romeo team to check over his car floor after his first run.
The incident between Magnussen and Kvyat will be investigated by the race stewards after qualifying. That'll be the Haas driver's second trip to the stewards today after his FP3 incident with Ocon.
Apart from the Racing Point pair, every driver is coming back out on track for a second (or third for some) run in Q1.
Radio Comms
"Mate you've just put me in a massive traffic jam," Russell says over Williams team radio. That's the case for pretty much every other driver on track currently.
Ocon, who complained about Q1 traffic at the last race and picked up a grid penalty for an incident with Russell, times it perfectly to lead the train and avoid any traffic dramas.
Stopwatch
Hamilton goes quicker with a 1m16.872s to top Q1. But it is bad news at Haas as both Magnussen and Grosjean improve but fail to get out of Q1.
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Out in Q1: Magnussen, Grosjean, Russell, Latifi and Giovinazzi.
The real winner from that session is Raikkonen who makes it into Q2. No other major surprises but impressive pace from Racing Point so early on in qualifying.
Q2 coming up, will any of the leading runners opt to try the medium tyres with an eye on race strategy? Verstappen, who used the hard tyres in Q2 last time out, will be a candidate but probably not on the hardest compound this time.
Green flag
Q2 is underway!
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Both Mercedes drivers and Red Bull drivers out on track early in this session, all getting a banker in on the soft tyres.
Stopwatch
Hamilton leads after the opening runs in Q2 with a 1m16.013s, beating Bottas who put in a 1m16.152s.
Verstappen goes P3 but half a second off Hamilton, with Albon currently P5 after being pushed back one spot by Norris.
By: Jake Boxall-Legge
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