This weekend marks round five of the 2019 Formula One season, with the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona. Mercedes have dominated the first four races and look set to do so again in Spain, while Ferrari's hopes a new engine could help them close the gap at the top failed to materialise. Sportsmail brought you all the news and updates as the grid unfolded on Saturday afternoon.<doc-sep>Indeed, the times in all three practice sessions indicate that they are behind Mercedes. And perhaps even further behind them than ever. Valtteri Bottas was quickest on Friday whilst Lewis Hamilton showed Mercedes prowess in final practice this morning by setting a time five-tenths of a second quicker than anyone else. It is a track where he has started on pole for the last three seasons, winning the last two. Still, Bottas left a bit of time out there but Hamilton looks like the man to beat. Ferrari - with Sebastian Vettel in fourth and Charles Leclerc in second - will be worried. Elsewhere, Haas look to be the best-of-the-rest and may even perhaps be able to challenge the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly. In fact, I am going to say now that one Haas will finish ahead of Gasly. It was a session that was red flagged twice, with Valtteri Bottas spinning his Mercedes at turn five on his out lap, beaching it in the gravel. Then George Russell's Williams went backwards through turn four and into the barriers, ending the session. With track conditions cooler today than yesterday - and a 50 per cent chance of rain during the session - there are still a lot of questions to be answered. Can Bottas keep the screw turned on Hamilton? Can Ferrari edge their way closer to Mercedes? Will home favourite Carlos Sainz be able to take decent points for McLaren? I'll be here for the next few couple of hours to find out...<doc-sep>Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton says Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas has been given “a nice helping hand” by one of the Briton’s long-term race engineers crossing the garage to work with the Finn. Bottas leads five times world champion Hamilton by a single point after four races, with both men having won twice each this season. The Finn, whose advantage stems from a fastest lap in Australia that was worth an extra point, failed to win a race last year while Hamilton was triumphant 11 times. “This year he has my number two engineer...and he is learning a lot from that,” the champion told reporters at the Spanish Grand Prix. “That’s to be expected, the little bit of a step that he’s taken. I’ve got a new engineer and we are working really well together but it takes time to build relationships with people and to continue to grow. “When you take one element away, whatever element you take away, initially it’s not as strong as something you have built over six years. We are building back to being stronger and trumping that. It’s only been four races, so just watch this space.” Bottas was fastest in both practice sessions at the Circuit de Catalunya on Friday, with Hamilton ending the day second quickest. The Finn’s previous race engineer Tony Ross left the Formula One team at the end of last season to lead the engineering side at the Mercedes HWA Racelab Formula E outfit that is due to debut later this year. His place was taken by Italian Riccardo Musconi, previously Hamilton’s performance engineer. F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Show all 45 1 /45 F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Azerbaijan Grand Prix Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton battle for the lead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix Getty F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Azerbaijan Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton briefly took the lead before Bottas returned to the front at Turn Two. Getty Images F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Azerbaijan Grand Prix Charles Leclerc made light wotk in coming through the field on his way to fifth place. Getty Images F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Azerbaijan Grand Prix Valtteri Bottas celebrates winning the Azerbaijan Grand Prix AFP/Getty F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Azerbaijan Grand Prix Bottas's win made up for the victory he lost in Baku in 2018. Getty Images F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Azerbaijan Grand Prix Hamilton congratulates his teammate Bottas after Mercedes' fourth one-two. AFP/Getty Images F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Azerbaijan Grand Prix Bottas celebrates his victory on the podium. Getty Images F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Azerbaijan Grand Prix Hamilton lost the championship lead to Bottas after finishing second. AFP/Getty Images F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Azerbaijan Grand Prix Sebastian Vettel, who finished third, celebrates with race-winner Bottas. AFP/Getty Images F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Qualifying Robert Kubica and Lewis Hamilton leave the pits as qualifying gets underway. REUTERS F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Qualifying Kubica's session came to a quick halt when he crashed at Turn Nine. Getty Images F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Qualifying Kubica was unhurt in the crash but his car was badly damaged. AFP/Getty Images F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Qualifying Q1 was red flagged to clear up the damage caused by Kubica's crash. Getty Images F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Qualifying Pierre Gasly topped Q1 but didn't run in Q2 as he will start from the pits due to a penalty. Getty Images F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Qualifying Charles Leclerc crashed into the same wall as Kubica to bring the red flag back out. Getty Images F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Qualifying Leclerc's Ferrari will need to be rebuilt overnight. Getty Images F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Qualifying Leclerc locked up entering the chicane and went straight on into the barrier. Getty Images F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Qualifying Leclerc's Ferrari sustained significant damage to the front-right corner. AFP/Getty Images F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Qualifying Leclerc admitted he made a mistake by braking too late on the medium tyres. AFP/Getty Images F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Qualifying Alexander Albon clips the wall as he's eliminated in Q2. REUTERS F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Qualifying Danill Kvyat celebrates qualifying in sixth for Toro Rosso. REUTERS F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Qualifying Sebastian Vettel reacts after losing out to the two Mercedes. REUTERS F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Qualifying Bottas beat Hamilton to pole position in a Mercedes front-row lockout. REUTERS F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Qualifying Hamilton was all smiles afterwards despite missing out on pole. Reuters F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Qualifying Bottas took his second consecutive pole position. AFP/Getty Images F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Friday practice The fourth race of the 2019 F1 season takes place on the streets of Baku in Azerbaijan. Getty Images F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Friday practice Charles Leclerc was one of the early runners in the weekend's first session. Getty Images F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Friday practice The Monogasque is looking to pick up his first win of his career this weekend. REUTERS F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Friday practice Both Leclerc and teammate Sebastian Vettel were the only two to set a lap time before the session was red flagged. Getty Images F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Friday practice George Russell's Williams is stranded on a flatbed lorry after it hit a bridge, following a separate incident with a manhole cover that caused practice to be cancelled. Reuters F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Friday practice Marshals had to get another crane to winch the Williams off of the broken down lorry. Getty Images F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Friday practice Eventually the Williams was retrieved off the flatbed. REUTERS F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Friday practice The Williams mechanics had to wait an eternity before getting their car back. Getty Images F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Friday practice But eventually Russell's car was returned to the Williams garage. REUTERS F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Friday practice Inspections revealed significant damage that required a full chassis change. AFP/Getty Images F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Friday practice Russell was not pleased with the incident that also kept him out of second practice. REUTERS F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Friday practice Williams' deputy team principal Claire Williams voiced her anger with the incident. REUTERS F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Friday practice Meanwhile, the rest of the paddock were forced to sit and wait for the day's second session. Getty Images F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Friday practice Which led to a number of bored drivers being spotted around the paddock. EPA F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Friday practice Second practice went ahead as planned. REUTERS F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Friday practice Cars eventually returned to track for the afternoon session. REUTERS F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Friday practice Lewis Hamilton finished with the third-fastest time of the session. Getty Images F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Friday practice Charles Leclerc was out in front as he led a Ferrari one-two. Getty Images F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Friday practice Lance Stroll's badly-damaged Racing Point is brought back to the pits. AP F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pictures Friday practice Lando Norris gets to grips with the Baku circuit in his McLaren. AP “Whenever you have new people around it makes you think about some things differently,” Bottas told reporters. “It can open up some new routes on the set-up and the direction. It has started really well. We have been learning a lot as an engineering team all the time and itâs getting better and better.” In 2016 Hamilton was unsettled when the team switched five of his mechanics to Rosberg’s car, while others went in the opposite direction. Hamilton felt Bottas, who joined Mercedes in 2017 after 2016 champion Nico Rosberg abruptly retired, had also become more focused.<doc-sep>
Dan Istitene/Getty Images Mercedes continued their strong start to the Formula One Spanish Grand Prix in second practice on Friday, as Valtteri Bottas was again on top of the standings. The Finn was lighting quick around the Circuit de Catalunya, posting a time of one minute, 17.284 seconds in the day's second session. That was enough to put him ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who was 0.049 seconds behind. Earlier in the day, Bottas was fastest for Mercedes in FP1, with the Ferrari pair of Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc in second and third respectively. Here is a recap of Friday's action from Barcelona, including the full standings from both practice sessions. FP2 Recap Video Play Button Videos you might like With Bottas and Hamilton split by the two Ferrari drivers in the early runs, it wasn't completely clear which team would have the edge going into final practice and qualifying on Saturday. However, it would appear Mercedes are again the team to beat. Hamilton was first to go the top of the standings, although he wasn't there for long, as his team-mate produced a better final sector on the soft tyre to move in front again. As the Autosport Live Twitter account relayed, the Mercedes has a big advantage over Ferrari in the final two sectors of the track: The Pirelli Motorsport Twitter account noted that the drivers are already much improved on their times from 2018: There was a small worry for Mercedes at the end of the session when Hamilton complained about a loss of power, although he was able to get his car back to the garage. Ferrari appear to be the best of the rest in Barcelona, as they were a significant way behind the Silver Arrows but comfortably ahead of the other cars in the field. Those seeking some drama in FP3 and qualifying may look to the battle to be on the third row of the grid. Based on Friday's data, there's little separating the Red Bull and Haas teams, with the four drivers from those teams tightly bunched on the standings. FP1 Recap Both Ferrari drivers were fast out of the blocks, and they set the early pace on a crucial weekend for the Italian outfit. However, they were both eclipsed by Bottas once the Finn strapped on the soft tyres. He also had a close call with Max Verstappen early in the session as the Dutchman just avoided him while on a fast lap: The pair both ended the session in the pits as their cars were investigated for apparent oil leaks. That was small fry compared with Lance Stroll's late issues, though. The Racing Point driver crunched nose first into the barriers at Turn 9, drawing a red flag moments before the end of the session while causing major damage to his car. The 20-year-old was able to walk away from the crash and appeared unhurt. But Racing Point will have a job on their hands to repair the damage.