Button's Monaco GP comeback ends with rebuke from Wehrlein

By JEROME PUGMIRE
AP Sports Writer

MONACO (AP) -- Jenson Button's Formula One comeback ended with a crash at Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix and a rebuke from the driver he ploughed into.

Returning as a one-off favor to McLaren, the British driver got a bit too close to German driver Pascal Wehrlein near the end of the race.

As they turned to head into the tunnel, the nose of Button's McLaren scooped up Wehrlein's Sauber and dumped it on its side. Wehrlein was able to walk away from the crash, but it was a scary moment for him considering he has only recently returned from a serious back injury.

"It was a silly move. It was just scary," Wehrlein said. "I couldn't get out of the car, the only thing I wanted to do was get out of the car."

After a few moments, the 22-year-old Wehrlein jumped out. He did not appear to sustain any serious injury, but will need precautionary checks after bumping his head.

Wehrlein missed the first two races of the season after injuring his back in a crash at the Race of Champions in Miami in January. He sustained hairline cracks in vertebrae and compressed some of his intervertebral discs.

"I touched again (my) head on the barrier, so I will have to do another scan next week for my back," he said. "Obviously with the injury I had, I'm not too sure."

Button has competed in more than 300 races and won the F1 title in 2009.

He put the incident down to an accident. However, he had not done any actual test driving with this season's heavier and wider cars before racing in Monaco.

"I looked across and saw that he hadn't seen me, so I tried to back out, but obviously it was too late by then," Button said. "I gave it a go and thought it was a fair enough judgment, but it didn't work out. You never like seeing a car tip over because you don't know if his head's going to hit anything, but the most important thing is that Pascal is OK."

Button was persuaded out of retirement to replace Fernando Alonso. The two-time F1 champion was given permission to skip Monaco so he could race at the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday.

Alonso will be back in two weeks' time for the Canadian GP in Montreal, and it will be a familiar scenario when he returns.

After six races, McLaren remains the only team not to score a point. Stoffel Vandoorne also crashed late in Sunday's race.

Not all smiles at Ferrari as Raikkonen unhappy with team

By JEROME PUGMIRE
AP Sports Writer

MONACO (AP) -- Even by his standards, Kimi Raikkonen was stony-faced after Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix.

The Ferrari driver rarely says much, yet the quietest man in Formula One felt the need to speak up after being on the receiving end of what seemed like clear team orders favoring his teammate Sebastian Vettel.

Vettel won the race, while Raikkonen finished second after securing his first pole position in nine years.

"It doesn't feel awful good," Raikkonen said.

The incident he was unhappy about was being asked to pit five laps earlier than Vettel, who took advantage of a much more favorable strategy. It allowed Vettel to stay out longer and pick up speed with no traffic in front of him and then, with his extra speed gained, come out of the pits ahead of Raikkonen and cruise to a 45th career victory.

Although Vettel denied it was a pre-arranged team plan, Raikkonen wasn't convinced.

"I got the bad end of the story today," said Raikkonen, whose last win was the season-opening Australian GP in 2013. "It's still second place but it doesn't count a lot in my books."

While Vettel spoke enthusiastically in the post-race news conference, Raikkonen seemed in a daze.

The Finnish driver either stared ahead or straight down at his feet, only raising his head to answer several questions aimed at getting him to say he'd been hindered by his own team.

"We can always say `If' as much as we want but it doesn't change things," Raikkonen said, shrugging his shoulders. "I have no idea. Obviously they have reasons for whatever they do."

Raikkonen's dry humor can be piercing when the mood takes him. Although he stopped short of directly criticizing Ferrari, "The Ice Man" clearly had a point to make.

"Obviously I can stop the car if I want," he joked, asking if he could have refused the instruction to pit earlier than Vettel even though he was leading the race.

"But if you don't believe what you have been told and how it will work, it will become very complicated at some point," Raikkonen said. "For myself it could have been better. We've just finished the race and who knows? There's some reason for everything that happens in life."

That he is making such cryptic comments just six races into the 20-race season may not bode well for Ferrari as it tries to end three straight years of total Mercedes domination.

The Prancing Horse team is 17 points clear of Mercedes in the constructors' championship and Vettel leads Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton by 25.

With so long to go, the last thing Ferrari needs is Raikkonen feeling let down.

"We get along well and I can understand Kimi's not totally happy today. I can understand why he's upset," Vettel said. "Obviously it's a bad surprise when somebody comes out ahead. I would feel 100 percent the same. But there were no team orders."

Others thought there clearly had been.

Three-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton, who was embroiled in several difficult moments with his former Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg in the last three years, is certain Ferrari has made Vettel their priority.

"It's clear to me that Ferrari have chosen their No. 1 driver so they will be pushing everything to make sure Sebastian will maximize all of his weekends," Hamilton said. "It's very hard for the leading car (Raikkonen) to get jumped by the second car (Vettel) unless the team decides to favor the other car (Vettel)."

Even Rosberg, who has retired from F1 and was conducting the interviews immediately after the race, offered his sympathy.

"I know how it feels," Rosberg said to Raikkonen. "It's not a good feeling."

Raikkonen has two weeks to either stew on his misfortune or put it behind him at the Canadian GP in Montreal.

FP1 - Hamilton heads Vettel in first Monaco session

Championship rivals Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel picked up where they left off in Spain during Thursday morning’s opening session in Monaco, as the former headed the latter by the smallest of margins. Both drivers took turns at the top, but in the end Hamilton lapped his Mercedes 0.196s quicker than Vettel’s Ferrari as both eclipsed Daniel Ricciardo’s 2016 pole time and lap record.

PRACTICE ONE TOP-10 RESULTS

POS. DRIVER TIME GAP LAPS
1 LEWIS HAMILTON 1:13.425 40
2 SEBASTIAN VETTEL 1:13.621 +0.196s 34
3 MAX VERSTAPPEN 1:13.771 +0.346s 32
4 VALTTERI BOTTAS 1:13.791 +0.366s 40
5 DANIEL RICCIARDO 1:13.854 +0.429s 45
6 DANIIL KVYAT 1:14.111 +0.686s 42
7 KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN 1:14.164 +0.739s 37
8 SERGIO PEREZ 1:14.201 +0.776s 32
9 CARLOS SAINZ 1:14.333 +0.908s 39
10 ESTEBAN OCON 1:14.425 +1.000s 39

Behind the leading duo, Max Verstappen recovered from a spell in the garage to take third place, a tenth and a half back of Vettel, while Valtteri Bottas and Daniel Ricciardo were fourth and fifth and the only other drivers to get within half a second of Hamilton’s benchmark.

In a surprisingly orderly session, nobody damaged their cars over the hugely unpopular kerb on the exit to the Swimming Pool, and only Romain Grosjean went off properly after locking his Haas’ brakes at Ste Devote, before spin-turning back into business.

The only other incidents were mild as Vettel, Verstappen, Kevin Magnussen and Pascal Wehrlein all ran over the chicane after overshooting their braking, while Jolyon Palmer ran wide at Mirabeau.

But there was on-track action throughout, partly to get as much track time as possible, and partly because the lack of degradation meant that drivers could still go fast on Pirelli tyres that were more than 20 laps old - even the ultrasofts.

However, one of the performances of the session came on the less popular supersoft rubber, as Daniil Kvyat finished an excellent sixth for Toro Rosso.  That pushed Kimi Raikkonen, whose Ferrari was spotted kissing the barriers several times at the Swimming Pool, down to seventh, ahead of the Force Indias of Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon, who sandwiched the other Toro Rosso of Carlos Sainz in ninth.

On his return to the McLaren cockpit, Jenson Button made a strong return and looked like he had never been away. Focusing primarily on longer runs and getting acclimated with the MCL32, Button pushed team mate Stoffel Vandoorne hard even when running soft tyres to the Belgian’s supersofts.

Button ended up 14th, two places back from Vandoorne, having accumulated 35 laps, which was 32 laps more than either Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg or Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson managed as both hit technical issues and failed to set timed laps. 

Vettel still confident despite Hamilton's win at Spanish GP

By JOSEPH WILSON
Associated Press

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) -- Sebastian Vettel lost the battle, not the Formula One title.

Despite a great start in individual duels with Mercedes, Ferrari's top driver finished Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix exactly where he started: in second place behind Lewis Hamilton.

Vettel can take heart, however, from the fact that the difference between the winner and runner-up came down to a choice of team strategy that went Mercedes' way. Hamilton finished the race on a faster set of tires than Vettel, passing the German on Lap 43 of 66 and conserving his tires as he sped away to victory.

"I think we can be very happy, but today we're not entirely happy because the win was there," Vettel said. "The car was quick enough but the way the race happened, it wasn't meant to be. The most important thing is that we were there. Once again fighting, hanging in there, not much missing at the end."

Vettel remained in the series lead, now reduced to six points from 13 over Hamilton, with his third second-place finish to go with two wins in five races.

Equally as important, Ferrari showed that the upgrades brought by both title contenders to Spain canceled one another out.

Vettel's Ferrari was a mere 0.051 seconds slower than Hamilton in Saturday's qualifying. He finished the race less than four second behind Hamilton, and Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo was nowhere close finishing a distant third.

Vettel also won three of the four jousts he had with Hamilton and teammate Valtteri Bottas on the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

His excellent jump from the start allowed him to pass Hamilton at the first turn.

Next, Vettel engaged Bottas in an exhilarating lap-long chase before finally getting past the Finn on the third try, even though the effort slowed down Vettel and let Hamilton shave off valuable seconds from behind.

"I was really happy, but then I looked down and (saw) I'd lost an awful lot of time, so I wasn't that happy because the real fight was with Lewis," Vettel said. "We lost four seconds."

Those seconds meant that when Vettel emerged from a second pit stop he was neck-and-neck with a hard-charging Hamilton. But Vettel defended his inside position on a curve, sending Hamilton off as they came close to touching.

Vettel had kept his lead, but Hamilton waited for a straightaway to blow past him on his faster tires and never looked back.

Vettel said the race was there for the taking.

"The car is good, the team is in great form," he said. "We're very happy when we have the chance to race Mercedes. They have been proving over and over in the last few years that they are the team to beat. We are giving them, so far, a good run for their money."

Vettel's and Hamilton's teammates both abandoned the race. Bottas bumped Kimi Raikkonen on the first turn, sending his Ferrari into Max Verstappen's Red Bull, damaging both cars' front suspension. Bottas was later forced to stop his Mercedes when it started spouting smoke midway through the race.

Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene said the knock by Bottas that cost Raikkonen an early exit was just part of F1.

"Shame for the end result, but we leave Spain knowing that we can count on a car that is solid and very quick," Arrivabene said. "The championship is still a long way and we are already focusing on the next race at Monaco."

After spending three years battling retired teammate Nico Rosberg for the title, Hamilton said he was enjoying taking the fight outside Mercedes' garage.

"To have that close battle with him, with a four-time champ, is awesome," Hamilton, himself a three-time champion, said about Vettel. "I think it was the rawest fight I can remember having for some real time, which I loved. This is why I race and this is what got me into racing in the beginning."

Hamilton will get another chance to tangle with Vettel in two weeks at the Monaco GP.

Strategy, teamwork help Hamilton win Spanish GP over Vettel

By JOSEPH WILSON
Associated Press

MONTMELO, Spain (AP) -- Thanks to superior strategy and some help from his teammate, Lewis Hamilton tightened the early title race in Formula One after beating Sebastian Vettel to win the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday.

Hamilton saw his advantage of a pole position evaporate when Vettel beat him to the first corner, but Mercedes' decision to have Hamilton finish the race on faster tires allowed the British driver to overtake Vettel's Ferrari with more than 20 laps left.

Hamilton would have had to leave his challenge until late if not for some assistance from teammate Valtteri Bottas, who held up Vettel before the Finn's Mercedes broke down in a puff of smoke.

"This was the rawest fight I have felt in a long time. This is what the sport is meant to be, this is why I race - to have battles with him for the championship," Hamilton said. "I just really have to congratulate and thank my team. They did a wonderful job with the strategy and the pit stops."

Hamilton's second win in five races this season cut Vettel's lead from 13 points to six heading into the Monaco GP. It was the three-time world champion's 55th career victory and his second at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya after first winning here in 2014.

Daniel Ricciardo brought his Red Bull across in a distant third place to complete the podium, his best result of the season.

Vettel had a great surge from second on the grid, going past Hamilton to the first right-hand turn and staying in front just as his Ferrari partner's race ended.

Starting from fourth and fifth, Kimi Raikkonen and 2016 race winner Max Verstappen came together when trying to squeeze around the first turn with Bottas alongside them. Bottas nudged Raikkonen into Verstappen, with the contact damaging the front suspensions of the Ferrari and Red Bull.

"It all started when I got hit, my car jumped a bit and you cannot control after that," Raikkonen said.

After Vettel and Hamilton had both pitted, Vettel hunted down Bottas now in the lead and engaged him in a lap-long duel. Vettel eventually got by on a third try, but by then Hamilton had pulled back some valuable seconds.

The two title rivals jousted after Vettel came out of his second pit stop just inches ahead of the hard-charging Hamilton. They brushed going through the first of two turns, with Hamilton going off momentarily as Vettel defended his position.

The teams' tire strategy then came into play.

While Vettel used his two sets of faster tires first before finishing on the more long-lasting but slower ones, Hamilton used his more conservative tires after his first pit stop, allowing him to finish on the faster set.

"If we had had the same tires on, it probably wouldn't have been as exciting" Hamilton said. "At the end I was able to manage the soft tires."

Moments after Bottas saw his hopes of adding to a maiden win in the previous round go up in smoke, Hamilton closed in on Vettel on his faster tires and never looked back after going by on lap 43.

"I was surprised that when I came out we were so close," Vettel said. "I was doing what I could to stay in front, but as soon as I was alone he just flew past."

Force India pair Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon finished fourth and fifth respectively, the best result for both drivers this year.

Nico Hulkenberg (Renault), Carlos Sainz (Toro Rosso), Pascal Wehrlein (Sauber), Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso) and Romain Grosjean (Haas) rounded out the points.

Fernando Alonso got his McLaren through to the checkered flag for the first time this season. He added his hopeful 12th-place finish to the leg of Spanish ham that a fan handed him over a barbed-wire fence while he was greeting his home supporters before the race.

The scrape between Raikkonen and Verstappen wasn't the only incident.

Felipe Massa collided with both McLaren cars. Alonso managed to keep control after they tangled early, but his rookie partner Stoffel Vandoorne abandoned midway through when his suspension was bent after the knock with Massa's Williams.

Qualifying - Hamilton edges Vettel for Spanish pole

By Formula 1

Just 0.051s separated Mercedes and Ferrari in qualifying for the Formula 1 Gran Premio de Espana Pirelli 2017 as Lewis Hamilton defeated title rival and points leader Sebastian Vettel in the battle for pole position in Barcelona. Their respective team mates Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen will fill the second row of the grid for Sunday’s race.

QUALIFYING TOP-10 RESULTS

POS. DRIVER TEAM TIME
1 LEWIS HAMILTON MERCEDES 1:19.149
2 SEBASTIAN VETTEL FERRARI 1:19.200
3 VALTTERI BOTTAS MERCEDES 1:19.373
4 KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN FERRARI 1:19.439
5 MAX VERSTAPPEN RED BULL RACING 1:19.706
6 DANIEL RICCIARDO RED BULL RACING 1:20.175
7 FERNANDO ALONSO MCLAREN 1:21.048
8 SERGIO PEREZ FORCE INDIA 1:21.070
9 FELIPE MASSA WILLIAMS 1:21.232
10 ESTEBAN OCON FORCE INDIA 1:21.272

The Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo were fifth and sixth, with local hero Fernando Alonso a remarkable seventh in what was arguably the drive of the day for McLaren. The Force Indias of Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon, split by the Williams of Felipe Massa, completed the top ten.

In track temperatures nudging 44 degrees Celsius and an ambient of 26, Vettel was one of the first out, on soft tyres, in Q1, which was a credit to Ferrari who had changed his engine routinely for Saturday morning, but then changed to a third unit after FP3 as a precaution when the new one developed a water leak towards the end of the morning session.

But he had only just embarked on a quick lap when he was instructed first to stop the car, then to pit, or at last to make it as far as the pits. Instead, however, he stayed out and banged in the fastest time of 1m 20.939s, which suggested that what he had been able to monitor in the cockpit overrode concerns the team were having.

Bottas failed to match that with 1m 20.991s, but Hamilton beat it with 1m 20.551s to go to the top, while Raikkonen only managed fourth with 1m 21.120s on his first try, but improved to second subsequently with 1m 20.742s. The Red Bulls were fifth and sixth, Verstappen just ahead of Ricciardo.

Pascal Wehrlein was a star for Sauber, getting into Q2 with 15th fastest time, which left team mate Marcus Ericsson as the first faller in 16th on 1m 22.332s. The Swede was followed by a struggling Jolyon Palmer in a Renault four-tenths slower than his team mate’s in 1m 22.401, Lance Stroll’s Williams on 1m 22.411s, Stoffel Vandoorne’s McLaren on 1m 22.532s and Daniil Kvyat’s Toro Rosso on 1m 22.746s.

Q2 saw Bottas spoil his first run by going wide in Turn 1. That left him behind Hamilton on 1m 20.210s and Raikkonen on 1m 20.621s. Bottas then made amends by going second with 1m 20.300s.

Vettel went second, with 1m 20.295s, as Verstappen and Ricciardo took their customary fifth and sixth places ahead of Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz and Ocon, leaving the Haas drivers to battle with Alonso, Massa, Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg and Perez to get into Q3.

This battle got even more heated as the wind picked up, and finally saw Ocon spring up to seventh from Massa, Perez and Alonso, in a tremendous performance in the McLaren. That left Kevin Magnussen 11th for Haas on 1m 21.329s ahead of a bitterly disappointed Sainz who had been seventh prior to the final runs, taking 12th on 1m 21.371s. Hulkenberg couldn’t work his magic for Renault and was next on 1m 21.397s ahead of an unhappy Romain Grosjean’s off-roading Haas on 1m 21.517s and Wehrlein’s Sauber on 1m 21.803s.

So, as ever, it all came down to Q3, with Mercedes and Ferrari apparently still neck and neck, having brought upgrades of almost equal value.

Hamilton won the first round, with 1m 19.149s to Bottas’s 1m 19.390s, Raikkonen’s 1m 19.639s and Vettel’s 1m 19.661s. Verstappen was also a threat with 1m 19.767s, but Ricciardo fell short at 1m 20.265s.

Hamilton failed to improve on his second run but Vettel did, moving past Bottas into second place with 1m 19.200s as the Finn also improved, to 1m 19.373s. Raikkonen went faster too, but 1m 19.439s left him fourth.

With Verstappen going faster but keeping fifth with a great 1m 19.706s best and Ricciardo staying sixth with 1m 20.175s, the other star was Alonso who put a McLaren Honda seventh on a power track in 1m 21.048s just ahead of Perez in the lead Force India with 1m 21.070s. Massa put Williams ninth with 1m 21.232s and the impressive Ocon dropped to 10th with 1m 21.272s.

Thus the provisional grid will line up: Hamilton, Vettel; Bottas, Raikkonen; Verstappen, Ricciardo; Alonso, Perez; Massa, Ocon; Magnussen, Sainz; Hulkenberg, Grosjean; Wehrlein, Ericsson; Palmer, Stroll; Vandoorne, Kvyat.

FP2 - Mercedes stay in front, but Ferrari close in

By Formula 1

Lewis Hamilton led Valtteri Bottas in another Mercedes one-two in Barcelona on Friday afternoon – but on the softer tyres that will be used in qualifying and the race, the Ferraris of Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel were much closer to the silver cars than they had been in first practice.

PRACTICE TWO TOP-10 RESULTS

POS. DRIVER TIME GAP LAPS
1 LEWIS HAMILTON 1:20.802 39
2 VALTTERI BOTTAS 1:20.892 +0.090s 38
3 KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN 1:21.112 +0.310s 34
4 SEBASTIAN VETTEL 1:21.220 +0.418s 36
5 MAX VERSTAPPEN 1:21.438 +0.636s 29
6 DANIEL RICCIARDO 1:21.585 +0.783s 35
7 NICO HULKENBERG 1:21.687 +0.885s 40
8 JOLYON PALMER 1:21.992 +1.190s 43
9 FELIPE MASSA 1:22.015 +1.213s 38
10 CARLOS SAINZ 1:22.265 +1.463s 34

The Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo finished fifth and sixth to complete a carbon copy of the top six finishing order in FP1, and in encouraging signs for their update package, they also both got to within a second of Hamilton’s benchmark, as did Nico Hulkenberg who impressed with team mate Jolyon Palmer as Renault finished seventh and eighth.

Williams’ Felipe Massa and Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz completed the top ten, the latter causing a brief red-flag period in the second half of the session after running wide at Turn 9 and depositing a piece of bodywork close to the racing line.

Under the same blue skies that had graced first practice, Mercedes had set the initial pace as the teams all started on Pirelli’s medium tyres, with Bottas lapping in 1m 23.062s.

The Finn knocked over two seconds off that time when he switched to soft rubber, before Hamilton went 0.090s quicker still to take P1.

Vettel’s response was 1m 21.220s, which was bettered by Raikkonen, who was subsequently advised to pit because of an indicated engine problem. Raikkonen eventually stayed out, but was told to keep a weather eye on his machinery.

Mercedes also had the slight edge on race pace over their rivals, though Bottas, like Vettel and Verstappen, had one small trip through the gravel after being unsettled by a gust of wind.

Still, the suggestion is that things have closed up a little between the top teams – though we’ll only know one way or another in qualifying.

It was extremely tight in the midfield too, with just 0.707s separating Massa from 14th placed Sergio Perez. McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne was within that bracket, while Fernando Alonso - who broke down after just three turns in FP1 - actually managed to put some laps together but remained at the bottom of the timesheets.

FP1 - Hamilton leads dominant Mercedes 1-2 in Barcelona

By Formula 1

Just 0.029s split the two Mercedes at the top of the timesheet as practice got underway in Spain on Friday morning, with Lewis Hamilton edging out team mate Valtteri Bottas. The heavily revised Silver Arrows finished nearly a second clear of Kimi Raikkonen’s third-placed Ferrari, with the other SF70H of Sebastian Vettel fourth after the world championship leader lost a chunk of track time to a technical issue early on.

PRACTICE ONE TOP-10 RESULTS

POS. DRIVER TIME GAP LAPS
1 LEWIS HAMILTON 1:21.521 28
2 VALTTERI BOTTAS 1:21.550 +0.029s 30
3 KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN 1:22.456 +0.935s 24
4 SEBASTIAN VETTEL 1:22.600 +1.079s 23
5 MAX VERSTAPPEN 1:22.706 +1.185s 22
6 DANIEL RICCIARDO 1:23.084 +1.563s 17
7 KEVIN MAGNUSSEN 1:23.670 +2.149s 22
8 ROMAIN GROSJEAN 1:23.758 +2.237s 23
9 NICO HULKENBERG 1:23.993 +2.472s 24
10 CARLOS SAINZ 1:24.004 +2.483s 21

Max Verstappen ended up just a tenth back of the German in his upgraded RB13, with Red Bull team mate Daniel Ricciardo a further four tenths down in sixth.

In sunny and warm conditions, Felipe Massa had set the opening pace for Williams with 1m 25.894s as everyone used the hard Pirelli’s initially. The Brazilian was then supplanted by his old team mate Bottas with 1m 25.027s, before Kimi Raikkonen went quickest on 1m 24.691s just as Sebastian Vettel’s sister SF70H stopped at the exit to the pit lane after five laps, with something apparently awry in the gearbox.

Bottas then traded fastest times with team mate Hamilton, with the Briton eventually gaining the early edge with a time of 1m 23.531s.

As all the drivers made the switch to medium rubber, Vettel was able to rejoin the fray after a short break, and celebrated by going fastest with 1m 22.600s. But the German’s stay at the top was brief as Bottas, similarly shod, clocked 1m 21.550s before Hamilton went back on top with 1m 21.521s - already almost half a second quicker than his 2016 pole time.

As Raikkonen improved to 1m 22.456s, so Vettel fell to fourth, lending Mercedes an unexpectedly big early advantage.

Red Bull had a slightly discordant session, with both cars undergoing work at times, but there were signs that the latest upgrade has wrought improvement with the lead RB13 within 1.1s of the Mercedes.

Haas also showed promise. Kevin Magnussen won the toss for the latest upgrade and used it to go seventh on 1m 23.670s ahead of team mate Romain Grosjean on 1m 23.758ss, but the Dane went off the road at Turn 4 late in the session after an apparent gearbox issue.

Sergey Sirotkin, standing in for Jolyon Palmer at Renault, and home favourite Fernando Alonso also hit technical trouble, the latter just three corners into his first lap of the day when his Honda-powered McLaren spun to a smoky halt. The Spaniard was unable to rejoin, with McLaren forced into an engine change before FP2.

The only other Spaniard in the field, Carlos Sainz, rounded out the top ten in his Toro Rosso, finishing just behind Nico Hulkenberg’s Renault. 

F1 star Fernando Alonso gets taste of Indianapolis oval

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- With ticket sales soaring for the Indianapolis 500 in anticipation of his first start in the race, Formula One star Fernando Alonso hit the Brickyard on Wednesday for his first drive around Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

After IndyCar driver Marco Andretti set up the No. 29 for Andretti Autosport, Alonso strapped into the bright orange Honda and hit the track and ran several laps, moving gradually past the 200 mph threshold to near 210 mph before heading to the pits.

"He only has 20 mph to go," IndyCar legend Mario Andretti said. "He's getting the feel of it. He's doing exactly what he needs to do. The experience that he has should dominate, but the anxiety is still there."

The Spaniard will attempt to run the Indianapolis 500 later this month, and hopefully, some day, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He's on a quest to win what's considered the Triple Crown of racing. That includes the Monaco Grand Prix, which he's already won. This bid at Indianapolis requires him to master new cars and racing styles.

"Fernando is coming in with a team that's certainly fresh with winning this race," Mario Andretti said. "He's placed exactly right. I think I feel what he's feeling right now."

Alonso, whose 32 F1 wins rank sixth all-time, has competed before at Indianapolis, but on the road course set up for the U.S. Grand Prix. He waited patiently for his turn behind the wheel while Marco Andretti ran several laps to get the car set up.

"You just need to make sure it stuck for him to get confidence," Marco Andretti said after exiting the car. "He'll have to learn by fire. He's asking the right questions. He'll be fine. He's a race car driver. I think he'll leave today pretty confident. He's going to be spoiled after today, that's for sure."

Alonso drives for struggling McLaren in Formula One. He will be the sixth entry for Andretti Autosport at Indy in a partnership with Honda and McLaren. The 35-year-old has begun preparing for Indy by testing on a simulator, where the walls aren't so intimidating and there's no traffic to negotiate.

Speedway president Doug Boles said Alonso's planned appearance in the race has sent ticket sales trending higher than all but one of the last 20 years.

"It's been great for the momentum and excitement," Boles said. "Fans from all over the world ... began buying tickets. It's great for the brand."

---

More AP auto racing: http://racing.ap.org