Bottas spins off, Hamilton tops 3rd practice for Spanish GP
MONTMELO, Spain (AP) — Lewis Hamilton clocked the fastest lap time for the last practice of the Spanish Grand Prix, after teammate and Formula One leader Valtteri Bottas lost time from spinning off the track on Saturday.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc had the second best time.
Bottas skidded off and ended up with his back tires stuck in the gravel at Turn 5. A red flag came out, a crane lifted the Mercedes out of the gravel trap, and Bottas hopped on a scooter to be shuttled back to the garage.
Bottas, who leads Hamilton by one point in the standings, got back out with 15 minutes left of the session and clocked the third fastest time.
Bottas topped both practices on Friday. The Finn will be aiming for a third consecutive pole position in qualifying later on Saturday.
Sebastian Vettel was fourth in his Ferrari, follow by Romain Grosjean in his Haas.
A second red flag came out late when George Russell went off and ended up with the rear of his Williams in the barrier.
Hamilton has won the Spanish GP three times, including the last two years.
Hamilton looked dominant on the Barcelona-Catalunya Circuit. At one point he asked his engineers by radio where he could do better. The response was “not many areas to improve, Lewis.”
Hamilton and Bottas have swept the first two spots in all four races so far, a first for F1.
Vettel is 35 points behind Bottas in third place.
The race is on Sunday.
