The 70th Anniversary Grand Prix is officially underway, with all 20 cars putting in their first laps of the weekend in FP1. For many, the session proved to be a useful period for tyre testing, whilst others pushed for quick laps. 

  • Bottas takes the lead

For the first time this season the Finnish driver topped the leaderboard on a Friday, with a solid lap time of 1:26.166. This result beats the leading lap time from FP1 last weekend, when Verstappen produced a 1:27.422. This success in free practice comes just a day after it was announced that Bottas had signed a one year deal with the World Constructors Champions to remain with them in 2021. 

Just a tenth of a second behind the 30-year-old sits his teammate Lewis Hamilton, who produced another strong session following his 87th grand prix win last weekend. 

  • Verstappen keeping close

Red Bull's Max Verstappen continues to breathe down the neck of the Mercedes drivers, finishing in P3 with a solid performance. Despite a near-collision with Charles Leclerc, it was a clean session for the Dutch driver, who had no complaints about the car.

His teammate Alex Albon - who did flag up some understeer issues - made big improvements on last weekend's pace, finishing just four tenths behind him. Red Bull will be looking for their two cars to be similar in pace as they enter qualifying tomorrow. 

  • Hulkenback??

It certainly seems so. After Sergio Perez once again tested positive for COVID-19, Hulkenberg was confirmed as Racing Point's second driver for the 70th Anniversary GP. Following his hugely disappointing non-start in last weekend's race, the German was eager to get back in the car. At the end of FP1, Hulkenberg sits in an impressive P4, ahead of Leclerc, Albon and Vettel (who finished P5-7) and a whole six tenths ahead of his Racing Point teammate Lance Stroll in 8th.

This positive session result will be welcome in the Racing Point garage, following a difficult morning for the team. After reviewing Renault's complaints about the RP20's brake ducts, the FIA announced that they upheld the protest and subsequently fined the 'Pink Mercedes' constructors €400,000 and docked 15 championship points. 

  • Soft tyres for most

A noticeable trend in FP1 was the use of soft tyres by most drivers, likely as an effort to test the durability of them in the current heat. Both McLaren drivers, along with Renault's Daniel Ricciardo, set slower lap times, suggesting their focus was on tyre evaluation this session. The 'Papaya' cars finished P12 and P14, but, following the degradation of Sainz's tyres on the penultimate lap last week, testing was key. 

Williams drivers Russell and Latifi finished the session in a respectable P15 and P16, whilst the bottom three consisted of Raikkonen, Kubica - who is driving for Alfa Romeo just in FP1 - and finally Magnussen.