Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Team’s Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll began the Spanish Grand Prix weekend with encouraging pace at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Friday’s running in Barcelona offered Formula One teams the first opportunity to get to grips with the revised track at Turn 10.
The re-profiling work has largely returned Turn 10 to the original layout used until 2004, with the 2021 machines entering at speeds of roughly 100km/h in third gear.
Changeable wind conditions, particularly in the second session, also proved a factor as the team worked to optimise the AMR21.
Both drivers also had the benefit of running the new aero updates that had debuted on Lance’s car in Portugal.
Sebastian and Lance began practice with a 10 and 11-lap stint on the Hards respectively as they looked to establish the baseline for the car.
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Their stints were briefly interrupted by an early yellow flag caused by an off for a Haas, but the duo soon posted their first times.
Lance would climb to sixth with a 1.23.360 lap time before Sebastian moved ahead as he lapped inside the 1m22s range.
With just under half the session remaining, the drivers moved onto a set of Softs for a short run and significantly improve their times.
Sebastian would initially top the timesheets courtesy of his 1.19.234 lap time before Lance moved into the top five after lapping in 1.19.883.
The opening practice was soon interrupted again when an Alfa Romeo became stuck in the gravel at Turn 10, causing a seven-minute red flag.
When the session turned green with just under 10 minutes remaining, Sebastian and Lance would head out on a used set of Softs to gather further data.
The wind picked up in second practice and the pair took in a programme that included significant running on the Medium tyre, as well as another short stint on the Soft.
Sebastian and Lance would initially use the Medium tyre to post lap times of 1.20.696 and 1.20.508 respectively inside the first 10 minutes of the hour on the track.
After a short stint, the drivers switched to the Soft tyre for the last time on Friday to set their fastest laps of the day.
Sebastian would lap in 1.18.947 while Lance set a 1.20.205, which he quickly lowered further to 1.19.134.
The pair spent the last 20 minutes of the session conducting long running on the Medium, but Lance would switch to the Soft in the final minute so that the team could conduct a practice pitstop.
Sebastian: "I think that has been our best Friday of the year so far. Plenty of laps for me and Lance, and we have done some important homework ahead of the race.
"I felt happy today and it was my opportunity to try new parts, which are a step forward. It is hard to say exactly where we will be tomorrow in a very close midfield competition, but we will try and find a bit more tonight to squeeze a few more tenths of performance."
Lance: "A really busy Friday covering lots of laps and learning about the car. Even though it was windy and hot out there, I felt comfortable, and we did some useful work today.
"It is a case of continuing to understand the car and the new parts we have introduced, which seem to have taken us in a good direction.
"We have seen just how close the grid is here, and it is never easy to overtake on this track, so we have got to make sure we have a strong Saturday and hook up the laps when it matters."
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