Russia – Free Practice 2: Hamilton and Bottas Take the Lead for Mercedes

This morning, for the first free practice session of the Russian Grand Prix, Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel created a surprise by setting the fastest time on a track generally favorable to Mercedes.

Carlos Sainz, Sergio Pérez, Marcus Ericsson, and Fernando Alonso will return to their seats this afternoon after having given them up this morning to the test drivers of their respective teams, namely Renault, Force India, Sauber, and McLaren.

The weather conditions are still perfect when the lights turn green to start this second session. The best laps don’t take long, unlike this morning. Sebastian Vettel puts his Ferrari at the top with a 1.35.382 ahead of the two Haas drivers, Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen, whose contract renewal was announced this morning.

The Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, somewhat disappointing this morning, are among the last to hit the track alongside Kimi Räikkönen’s second Ferrari.

UltraSofts on 💜 Valtteri and Lewis go P2 and P4 on their first #FP2 runs! #RussianGP 🇷🇺 #F1 pic.twitter.com/GLnAUmUWqI

— Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) 28 septembre /f1/actualite/22947-officiel-grosjean-et-magnussen-reconduits-chez-haas-en-2019.html

Right from the start, the fastest laps are exchanged between the three teams: Ferrari, Mercedes, and Red Bull. The drivers take advantage of the start of the session to set their pace before focusing on long stints in preparation for the race. Vettel is quickly relegated to 5th position behind Daniel Ricciardo, Bottas, Hamilton, and Max Verstappen, who sets the fastest time of the first half-hour. What a shame for the Dutch driver to be penalized on the grid for an engine change when his car seems at ease on the Russian track! Despite everything, the driver regularly complains about the precarious balance of his RB14.

On a second quick attempt on Hyper soft tires, the two Mercedes take the lead of the standings, with Hamilton in 1:33.548 in first place ahead of Bottas in 1:33.584. It’s very tight between the two teammates! On a circuit he loves and where he already won last year, the Finn might have a chance this weekend to secure his first victory of the season.

Outside the usual Top 6, it’s the Frenchman Pierre Gasly driving his Toro Rosso who surprisingly leads the chase ahead of Esteban Ocon and his Force India, Marcus Ericsson and his Sauber, and Kevin Magnussen who rounds out the Top 10.

In the middle of the session, the teams begin long stints in preparation for the race with Ultra soft or Hyper soft compounds, depending on the drivers’ choices. The Red Bulls, who will have to attack from the back of the grid, opt for the softer of the two compounds, as does Lewis Hamilton, who will likely start with this type of rubber whose lifespan will be crucial in the early race strategy. His teammate takes on the evaluation of the Hyper softs.

The race simulations runs are well underway at the moment, with @ValtteriBottas one of the drivers making progress on the hypersoft tyre. His team mate @LewisHamilton and the two @redbullracing cars are on ultrasoft. pic.twitter.com/6QEocPnDT2

— Pirelli Motorsport (@Pirellisport) 28 septembre /f1/actualite/22947-officiel-grosjean-et-magnussen-reconduits-chez-haas-en-2019.html

Among the mid-table teams, the tire strategy for the race remains more uncertain. Like Renault, which sends Nico Hülkenberg on track with Soft tires. The German is currently in 14th place, behind his teammate Carlos Sainz who is in 12th place. The yellow and black single-seaters are, on average, two seconds slower than the best in qualifying mode.

The complete ranking of FP2:

FP2 CLASSIFICATION: A strong session for @MercedesAMGF1 #RussianGP 🇷🇺 #F1 pic.twitter.com/WlAL604IIG

— Formula 1 (@F1) 28 septembre /f1/actualite/22947-officiel-grosjean-et-magnussen-reconduits-chez-haas-en-2019.html