Ricciardo crashes again in Spanish GP practice

Fresh from his disastrous collision with Max Verstappen in Azerbaijan, Daniel Ricciardo crashed in opening practice for the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix.

He was the biggest casualty on Friday after he losing control of his Red Bull on turn four, taking a trip across the gravel and thudding into a tyre barrier.

The Australian’s session was instantly over as he hitched a lift to the pits.

His damaged car was taken on a truck back to the Red Bull garage for repairs.

Lewis Hamilton had to settle for second place as Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas lit up the timesheets.

Bottas, who has out-qualified Hamilton at four of the past six races, held the advantage once more with a record-breaking lap of Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya.

The Finn’s flyer of one minute and 18.148 seconds enabled him to finish almost of nine-tenths of a second clear of Hamilton with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel third.

Bottas earlier spun at turn 13, while Vettel, who trails Hamilton by four points in the championship, also came unstuck at turn 10 in a session notable for incidents.

with AAP