Spanish GP: Mercedes leads the field in FP1

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Mercedes put its revamped W08 through its paces with success in the first free practice session for this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.

Lewis Hamilton, runnin on Pirelli's medium compound, edged out team mate Valtteri Bottas by 0.029s, leaving Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel just under one second behind.

Vettel's running in FP1 was limited by a mechanical issue at the rear of his SF70H, but the Scuderia resolved the problem and sent the German back out without any further delay.

Max Verstappen led Red Bull team mate Daniel Ricciardo in fifth and sixth place.

Kevin Magnussen headed Haas' duo in P7 as both the Dane and Grosjean spent the morning running consistently in the top-ten.

But K-Mag's session came to a premature halt in the closing stages of the session with an apparent gear-box issue.

Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz closed out the top ten, over two seconds adrift from the front-running Mercedes tandem.

It was a busy morning of running at the Circuit de Catalunya except for McLaren's Fernando Alonso whose Honda power unit expired after just three corners!

The Spaniard left the circuit dejected to return to his hotel but will be back this afternoon for FP2.

Pos	Driver	Team	Time	Gap	Laps
1	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:21.521s		28
2	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:21.550s	+ 0.029s	30
3	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:22.456s	+ 0.935s	24
4	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:22.600s	+ 1.079s	23
5	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1:22.706s	+ 1.185s	22
6	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	1:23.084s	+ 1.563s	17
7	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	1:23.670s	+ 2.149s	22
8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1:23.758s	+ 2.237s	23
9	Nico Hülkenberg	Renault	1:23.993s	+ 2.472s	24
10	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	1:24.004s	+ 2.483s	21
11	Sergio Pérez	Force India	1:24.188s	+ 2.667s	23
12	Esteban Ocon	Force India	1:24.324s	+ 2.803s	22
13	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	1:24.400s	+ 2.879s	24
14	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:24.618s	+ 3.097s	34
15	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	1:24.642s	+ 3.121s	18
16	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:24.966s	+ 3.445s	23
17	Pascal Wehrlein	Sauber	1:25.182s	+ 3.661s	24
18	Lance Stroll	Williams	1:25.919s	+ 4.398s	34
19	Sergey Sirotkin	Renault	1:26.293s	+ 4.772s	10
20	Fernando Alonso	McLaren			1

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.