MONTMELO, Spain (AP) – Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton fastest in training for the Spanish Grand Prix before qualifying later on Saturday, where he will achieve a record pole position of 92.
Hamilton 0.151 seconds ahead of teammate Mercedes Valtteri Bottas and 0.515 ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. McLaren’s Carlos Sainz Jr. showed impressive speed and finished fourth.
Mercedes also led education on Friday with Bottas and Hamilton exchanging places. Verify third in any of the sessions.
Esteban Ocon left moments before the end of the P3 when he had to make a sudden right turn to crash into the back of Kevin Magnussen, who broke late.
Ocon entered the wall and broke the front of his Renault, bringing a red flag to avoid consultation and giving the Renault team two hours to fix the car for qualification.
Four-time F1 champion Sebastian Vettel struggled backwards even though Ferrari equipped his car with a new chassis, completing 12th place.
Verstappen won last Sunday’s race at Silverstone to finish a three-in-a-row winning streak for Hamilton and four in a row for Mercedes. He also propelled the Dutch driving force to the moment position in Hamilton’s standings, with Bottas falling third.
Hamilton has won the last 3 PGs of Spain, positioning themselves in May in a not-so-complicated temperature drop for tyres.
___
More AP races: https://apnews.com/apf-AutoRacing and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports