<< Return to the news list

<strong>FP2</strong>: Bottas on top after Friday practice

FP2: Bottas on top after Friday practice

Published on 12 Apr 2019 09:31
3
By: Harry Mattocks

Valtteri Bottas has topped the second practice session in China, finishing just ahead of Sebastian Vettel on the time sheets.

The Finn set his fastest lap on the soft tyre, but was only 0.027s quicker than Vettel. However, crucially, he didn't lose much time in the final sector of the lap where Ferrari was expected to dominate.

Vettel was in second place, but was about two-tenths clear of Verstappen in third, with the Dutchman curiously asking his team for advice on how to improve the quality of his gear changes.

Lewis Hamilton couldn't match the lap his teammate put in, as the Briton was seven-tenths down in fourth place, suffering from a low speed spin early on in the session.

Hulkenberg was fifth, with all Renault teams close behind and covered by only two-and-a-half tenths.

Sainz was in sixth place and eight tenths off the lead, with the second Ferrari of Charles Leclerc in seventh place. Leclerc had to end his session early however, after Ferrari confirmed that they were carrying out "cooling checks".

Lando Norris finished in eighth, with the Australian Daniel Ricciardo just behind him in ninth. Pierre Gasly was tenth in the second Red Bull, with the Frenchman still struggling to find the pace of his teammate Max Verstappen.

Outside of the top ten, two tenths separated the field from Kimi Raikkonen in 11th all the way down to Kevin Magnussen in 16th. Romain Grosjean was 17th and 2.3s off the pace, with Antonio Giovinazzi rounding out the top eighteen.

Then came the Williams drivers, with Robert Kubica and teammate George Russell finishing in second to last and last respectively.

F1Grand Prix China - Free practice 2

Shanghai International Circuit - 12 April 2019

Driver

Team

Time

Difference

#
1

Valtteri Bottas

Mercedes

1:33.330

37
2

Sebastian Vettel

Ferrari

1:33.357

+0.027

33
3

Max Verstappen

Red Bull Racing

1:33.551

+0.221

29
4

Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes

1:34.037

+0.707

32
5

Nico Hülkenberg

Renault

1:34.096

+0.766

31
6

Carlos Sainz jr

McLaren

1:34.141

+0.811

36
7

Charles Leclerc

Ferrari

1:34.158

+0.828

13
8

Lando Norris

McLaren

1:34.296

+0.966

38
9

Daniel Ricciardo

Renault

1:34.336

+1.006

32
10

Pierre Gasly

Red Bull Racing

1:34.455

+1.125

32
11

Kimi Räikkönen

Alfa Romeo Racing

1:34.551

+1.221

33
12

Alexander Albon

Toro Rosso

1:34.634

+1.304

37
13

Daniil Kvyat

Toro Rosso

1:34.694

+1.364

20
14

Lance Stroll

Racing Point

1:34.779

+1.449

37
15

Sergio Perez

Racing Point

1:34.784

+1.454

35
16

Kevin Magnussen

Haas F1

1:34.788

+1.458

34
17

Romain Grosjean

Haas F1

1:35.704

+2.374

32
18

Antonio Giovinazzi

Alfa Romeo Racing

1:35.914

+2.584

40
19

Robert Kubica

Williams

1:36.121

+2.791

38
20

George Russell

Williams

1:36.229

+2.899

35

Photos China 2019

Open the whole photo album

F1 News Valtteri Bottas Mercedes

Replies (3)

mcbhargav

Posts: 1,332
Gasly and Giovinazzi
- + 0
- Apr 12 2019 - 10:02
- calle.itw
  
  Posts: 8,527
  Hardly impressive, are they? It won't surprise me if we could see Mick getting into that Sauber for next year if Gio doesn't git gud. Likewise, it ain't unlikely that Red Bull do a switcharoo with Gasly and Kvyat if they continue this way. I'm 100% sure Marko intentionally let the STRs fight Gasly to gauge him.
  + 0
  
  Apr 12 2019 - 16:56
siggy74

Posts: 194
Starting from the back the result for Williams looks to be the right order,lol
- + 0
- Apr 12 2019 - 17:39