Spot gold was down at $1,919.9 per ounce, as of 9.15am local time
Valtteri Bottas led Formula One world champion team mate Lewis Hamilton in a Mercedes one-two in first practice for the French Grand Prix at Le Castellet on Friday.
After two tough street races for the reigning champions, Mercedes are hoping for a return to winning ways at a southern circuit they have dominated since its return to the calendar in 2018.
Seven-times world champion Hamilton won from pole position in 2018 and 2019 and Mercedes have also led every practice session.
Bottas topped the timesheets in one minute 33.448 seconds, with Hamilton 0.335 slower and Red Bull’s championship leader Max Verstappen third with a lap of 1:33.880 and Azerbaijan GP-winning team mate Sergio Perez fourth.
Verstappen is four points clear of Hamilton after six rounds.
Alpine’s Esteban Ocon was fifth and McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo sixth with Alpine’s double world champion Fernando Alonso seventh.
Neither Ferrari made the top 10, with Charles Leclerc 11th and Carlos Sainz 16th.
Several drivers, including Bottas, damaged their cars and tyres on the kerbs and brightly painted abrasive run-off areas.
Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel hit the barriers backwards and nursed his damaged car back to the pits, a set of tyres wrecked.
“Those yellow rumble strips on the exit of turn two have done an awful lot of damage to our car. They are just too aggressive,” complained Mercedes sporting director Ron Meadows over the radio to race director Michael Masi.
Spot gold was down at $1,919.9 per ounce, as of 9.15am local time
'Sanaa' is an introspective drama about an ambitious woman who is fighting an internal battle due to unresolved trauma
The man was sentenced to a year in prison and was fined the amount of damage he caused
From a unique painting class and ladies nights to a beach daycation, there is plenty to do today
Andrea Riseborough was unexpectedly nominated for her performance in the scantly seen indie drama 'To Leslie'
The filing disputes the validity of an amendment to Presley's living trust that removed her mother and a former business manager as trustees
The Argentine superstar revealed that he had received a million messages
The plaintiffs also demanded Dh20,000 in compensation for material and moral damages