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<strong>FP2:</strong> Hamilton fastest, Mercedes pull clear from Ferrari

FP2: Hamilton fastest, Mercedes pull clear from Ferrari

Published on 28 Sep 2018 15:30
2
By: Fergal Walsh

Lewis Hamilton ended the second practice session on top of the timesheets as Mercedes streaked well clear of rivals Ferrari. Hamilton's fastest time read a 1:33.385, which was two-tenths of a second quicker than teammate Valtteri Bottas in P2.

Despite topping the opening session in Sochi on Friday morning, Ferrari only ended the session in fifth and sixth place. Sebastian Vettel's time was over half a second down on Hamilton's pace-setting lap, while Kimi Raikkonen was a further half a second off the pace.

The Red Bull duo slotted in between both Mercedes' and Ferraris. Max Verstappen headed his teammate Daniel Ricciardo, with very little to separate the two energy drink-backed drivers.

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Sergio Perez ended the session as the 'best of the rest' driver, setting the seventh fastest time in the session. Pierre Gasly, who is running with Honda's upgraded engine this weekend, finished in eighth place behind Perez, with Esteban Ocon and Marcus Ericsson rounding out the top ten.

Haas failed to make it into the top ten as they attempt to catch up to Renault for fourth place in the championship. Kevin Magnussen ended the session in eleventh, ahead of Renault's Carlos Sainz, who will be leaving for McLaren next year.

The second Sauber of Charles Leclerc was thirteenth while Nico Hulkenberg trailed the Ferrari bound driver. Behind the German was Romain Grosjean, who was confirmed this morning to be racing with Haas alongside Kevin Magnussen for 2019.

Brendon Hartley was sixteenth, heading the McLaren duo of Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne. Williams ended the session as slowest, with local favourite Sergey Sirotkin ahead of teammate Lance Stroll.

Action from Sochi resumes on Saturday at 12:00 local time with the final practice session before the weekend heats up with qualifying for Sunday's race at 15:00 local time.

F1Grand Prix Russian - Free practice 2

Sochi Autodrom - 28 September 2018

Driver

Team

Time

Difference

#
1

Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes

1:33.385

35
2

Valtteri Bottas

Mercedes

1:33.584

+0.199

33
3

Max Verstappen

Red Bull Racing

1:33.827

+0.442

32
4

Daniel Ricciardo

Red Bull Racing

1:33.844

+0.459

37
5

Sebastian Vettel

Ferrari

1:33.928

+0.543

33
6

Kimi Räikkönen

Ferrari

1:34.388

+1.003

31
7

Sergio Perez

Racing Point

1:35.122

+1.737

30
8

Pierre Gasly

Toro Rosso

1:35.137

+1.752

28
9

Esteban Ocon

Racing Point

1:35.147

+1.762

33
10

Marcus Ericsson

Sauber

1:35.295

+1.910

35
11

Kevin Magnussen

Haas F1

1:35.331

+1.946

33
12

Carlos Sainz jr

Renault

1:35.341

+1.956

37
13

Charles Leclerc

Sauber

1:35.432

+2.047

32
14

Nico Hülkenberg

Renault

1:35.568

+2.183

35
15

Romain Grosjean

Haas F1

1:35.911

+2.526

35
16

Brendon Hartley

Toro Rosso

1:36.024

+2.639

29
17

Fernando Alonso

McLaren

1:36.074

+2.689

34
18

Stoffel Vandoorne

McLaren

1:36.617

+3.232

34
19

Sergey Sirotkin

Williams

1:36.861

+3.476

39
20

Lance Stroll

Williams

1:37.001

+3.616

35

Photos Russia 2018

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F1 News Max Verstappen Fernando Alonso Valtteri Bottas Romain Grosjean Daniel Ricciardo Lewis Hamilton Sebastian Vettel Kimi Räikkönen Marcus Ericsson Sergio Perez Kevin Magnussen Stoffel Vandoorne Pierre Gasly Esteban Ocon Sergey Sirotkin Charles Leclerc Lance Stroll Brendon Hartley Ferrari Mercedes Sauber Williams McLaren Renault Honda

Replies (2)

calle.itw

Posts: 8,527
Good session for Gasly and Ericsson.
- + 0
- Sep 28 2018 - 17:28
Freguz

Posts: 160
Surprisingly good speed from Ericsson...

Probably because Giovinazzi drove his car in FP1 and Ferrari engineers helped the mechanics to tune the engine a bit better...
- + 0
- Sep 28 2018 - 21:56