France: Defending world champion Lewis Hamilton was on blistering form as he set the pace in his Mercedes during Free Practice One at the Circuit Paul Ricard race track near Versailles on Friday ahead of the French Grand Prix.
Hamilton, who leads the standings, stopped the clock on one minute, 32.738 seconds while his teammate, Valtteri Bottas came in second, just 0.069 seconds behind him, securing yet another Mercedes one-two at a track that many observers consider will likely favor the Silver Arrows during racing.
Bottas himself had said the previous day that he expected the Paul Ricard circuit would suit Mercedes better than Canada, where Ferrari crossed the line first but Hamilton won the race on a technical point, Efe news reports.
On this occasion, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc was third quickest in FP1, once again proving that he can be faster than his teammate, four-times world champion Sebastian Vettel.
It was Vettel who took the checkered flag in Canada, but was judged to have forced Hamilton off the racing line by rejoining the race track dangerously after making a mistake that took him onto the grass, causing the Mercedes driver to slam on his brakes and back off mid-overtake.
Hamilton leads the championship on 162 points, 29 more than his teammate Bottas who is in second place, while Vettel is third, 62 points behind the standings leader. (IANS)
