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<strong>FP2:</strong> Hamilton fastest again, Ferrari struggle to keep up

FP2: Hamilton fastest again, Ferrari struggle to keep up

Published on 05 Oct 2018 08:30
0
By: Fergal Walsh

Lewis Hamilton continued where he left off from this morning's session in Japan by topping the second practice session. The Briton set a 1:28.217 on his qualifying simulation run, which was almost half a second quicker than what anyone else managed to do.

Mercedes look to be in the strongest shape following the opening day of running at the Suzuka Circuit. Hamilton's teammate Valtteri Bottas was second, as he was following the first session this morning.

Ferrari failed to stay with Mercedes during FP1 and appeared to struggle once again in the afternoon. Sebastian Vettel ended the session in third place, but was over eight-tenths of a second behind championship rival Hamilton.

Max Verstappen managed to slot his Red Bull in between the two Ferrari cars. The Dutchman was fourth, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen who trailed the 21-year-old by two-tenths of a second.

Daniel Ricciardo was sixth, but was only very marginally slower than Raikkonen. Behind the Australian, Esteban Ocon claimed the 'best of the rest' position in his Force India as question marks surround the future of the Frenchman.

Romain Grosjean, whose contract was recently renewed with Haas for 2019, was eighth place, only just getting the better of Marcus Ericsson in ninth. Running with an updated Honda engine, Toro Rosso's Brendon Hartley rounded out the top ten.

The day wasn't completely smooth for the Red Bull junior squad, as Pierre Gasly only left the garage with 15 minutes remaining. Toro Rosso mechanics uncovered a fuel issue before the session got the green light, causing Gasly to miss out on a lot of running.

Tucked in between the two Toro Rosso's were Sergio Perez and his former teammate Nico Hulkenberg. Hulkenberg's teammate Carlos Sainz was fifteenth, indicating that Renault is perhaps down on pace this weekend as it aims to hold onto fourth in the constructor's standings.

Charles Leclerc was fifteenth, heading Kevin Magnussen. Fernando Alonso followed while the two Williams's of Sergey Sirotkin and Lance Stroll were eighteenth and nineteenth respectively. Stoffel Vandoorne rounded out the timesheet after missing the morning session.

F1Grand Prix Japan - Free practice 2

Circuit Suzuka - 05 October 2018

Driver

Team

Time

Difference

#
1

Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes

1:28.217

31
2

Valtteri Bottas

Mercedes

1:28.678

+0.461

30
3

Sebastian Vettel

Ferrari

1:29.050

+0.833

36
4

Max Verstappen

Red Bull Racing

1:29.257

+1.040

32
5

Kimi Räikkönen

Ferrari

1:29.498

+1.281

33
6

Daniel Ricciardo

Red Bull Racing

1:29.513

+1.296

27
7

Esteban Ocon

Racing Point

1:30.035

+1.818

32
8

Romain Grosjean

Haas F1

1:30.440

+2.223

32
9

Marcus Ericsson

Sauber

1:30.478

+2.261

33
10

Brendon Hartley

Toro Rosso

1:30.502

+2.285

27
11

Sergio Perez

Racing Point

1:30.510

+2.293

28
12

Nico Hülkenberg

Renault

1:30.644

+2.427

36
13

Pierre Gasly

Toro Rosso

1:30.795

+2.578

10
14

Carlos Sainz jr

Renault

1:30.904

+2.687

31
15

Charles Leclerc

Sauber

1:30.906

+2.689

26
16

Kevin Magnussen

Haas F1

1:30.956

+2.739

25
17

Fernando Alonso

McLaren

1:30.988

+2.771

34
18

Sergey Sirotkin

Williams

1:31.087

+2.870

39
19

Lance Stroll

Williams

1:31.215

+2.998

32
20

Stoffel Vandoorne

McLaren

1:31.981

+3.764

32

Photos Japan 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 Renault Mercedes Williams Force India Ferrari Honda