F1: Portuguese Grand Prix – live!

On the first hot runs in Q3 Bottas led the Mercedes pair out and set the initial pace with a 1min 16.986sec, an advantage over Lewis Hamilton of four-hundredths of a second, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who was ultimately third, still in touch, a tenth back on the leaders.

Their times, however, were down on earlier runs as the wind picked up in the hills of the Algarve and with the drivers still struggling for grip on the newly resurfaced track Mercedes offered both their men options for their final runs – what rubber to run and whether to make two or three laps.

The latter was crucial – two laps carried less weight in fuel but three offered the possibility of the rubber working marginally better on the final run.

Both Hamilton and Bottas switched from the soft to the medium tyre but Bottas chose a two-lap run and Hamilton the three.

Hamilton had an extra lap to work his rubber, putting in two quick runs after his out lap. It proved inspired but it could not have been closer as the lead seesawed between them. Hamilton’s first flying circuit set the pace with a 1:16.934 only for Bottas to better it with a 1:16.754.

But the Finn then had to peel off into the pits as Hamilton circled one more time, banking on having the very best of what grip there was at the death. It worked and he delivered as he checked out with a 1:16.652, a tenth clear of Bottas and two-tenths up on Verstappen.

Before we get to a qualifying catch-up, an unsettling story from yesterday that has affected things behind the scenes in Portimão …

Vitaly Petrov, the Russian former driver who was a steward at the Portuguese Grand Prix, has stepped down after his father, Alexandr, was shot dead at his home in Vyborg, 80 miles north-west of St Petersburg. He will be replaced by Bruno Correia, the Formula E safety car driver.

On Thursday Petrov had been criticised for being used in the stewarding role by Lewis Hamilton in response to the negative comments Petrov had made on the British driver’s anti-racist stance this season.

The FIA stated Petrov had stepped down from his position after “a personal bereavement” and Russian media is reporting the incident as an assassination. Petrov has returned home to Russia.