Gabriel Bortoleto finished day 1 of the Belgian GP of Formula 1 in 13th place. In the second free practice held this Friday (17), the competitor posted a time of 1min47s952 to close within the top 15.
Read more F1: Antonelli dominates to lead second free practice of the Belgian GP
The driver was back on track for the second session – in the first practice in Spa, the Brazilian ended about six minutes early and did not get to practice starts, but was tenth on the table.
For this second activity of the day, the weather remained pleasant, although slightly cooler than in the morning, with the thermometer around 23ºC and the asphalt reaching 33ºC.
When the Audi regular completed his first fast lap, he placed eighth on medium tires. The competitor’s time was 1min48s335, 1.424 seconds slower than Kimi Antonelli, the leader.
With just over 47 minutes to the end of the practice, a red flag was triggered. The reason was that a driver went off track and brought a lot of gravel onto the track, requiring cleaning.
At this moment, Bortoleto was in ninth place and in comparison, Nico Hülkenberg had not yet recorded a fast lap.
It took about five minutes for the session to restart. As soon as the pit lane was opened, Audi’s #5 driver quickly returned to the track for fast laps.
Read more F3: Slater takes pole in Belgium in qualifying marked by accident
Half of the practice completed and Bortoleto was stopped in the pits. At this moment, he was 12th without having improved his time, growing to more than 2.3 seconds behind Antonelli, the leader.
Finally, with 24 minutes to the checkered flag, Gabriel leaves the pits and returns to the track. Like almost all other competitors, he was wearing new soft tires for qualifying simulation.
When he completed his first attempt, he was 13th, 2.008 seconds behind Antonelli with 1min47s952.
New red flag, this time due to a heavy crash by Pierre Gasly. The Frenchman lost the rear and hit the protective wall, leaving car debris in the middle of the track.
Clock zeroed and the session ended at Spa-Francorchamps. With that, Bortoleto finished in 13th place on the table, while Hülkenberg was 17th.
Read more F2: Car flies at the end and takes pole position in Belgium
