Sebastian Vettel emerged fastest in Friday practice as Ferrari asserted its authority ahead of the Russian Grand Prix.
The four-time world champion recorded the fastest time of the day with a 1:34.120s on the ultra-soft compound tyres, to top the second 90 minute practice at the Sochi Autodrom.
Vettel headed Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, who had topped opening practice in the sister SF70H.
The Finn proved 0.2s shy of Vettel as Ferrari lit up the timing screens.
Mercedes appeared to struggle for outright pace with Valtteri Bottas third fastest 0.6s adrift of Vettel.
Lewis Hamilton was a tenth further back in fourth as the Silver Arrows failed to match Ferrari in the second and third sectors of the lap.
Red Bull proved the best of the rest with Max Verstappen clocking a time three tenths faster than team-mate Daniel Ricciardo.
However, Verstappen’s day ended prematurely when a suspected fuel pressure issue saw him lose power with 20 minutes of second practice remaining.
Williams’ Felipe Massa was seventh ahead of Nico Hulkenberg (Renault), Kevin Magnussen (Haas F1) and Force India’s Sergio Perez, who rounded out the top 10.
McLaren’s Fernando Alonso was able to clock a time good enough 12th on what was another difficult day for the Woking squad.
The sister car of Stoffel Vandoorne ended up 16th after missing much of the opening practice due to an engine issue.
McLaren has elected to change the Honda power unit which incurred a 15-place grid drop for the Belgian.
Rookie Lance Stroll was 19th for Williams having been the only driver not to compete a run on the ultra-soft tyres.
Russian Daniil Kvyat finished 17th as Toro Rosso struggled for outright pace.
Countryman Sergey Sirotkin briefly appeared in opening practice for Renault as he took the wheel of Hulkenberg’s car.
The Renault reserve driver completed two installation laps before an issue sidelined the car for the remainder of the session.
Qualifying is scheduled to begin tonight at 2200 AEST.
Result: Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix Practice 2
| Position | Driver | Car | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:34.120s | – | 36 |
| 2 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1:34.383s | 0.263s | 36 |
| 3 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1:34.790s | 0.670s | 36 |
| 4 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:34.829s | 0.709s | 34 |
| 5 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull/Renault | 1:35.540s | 1.420s | 15 |
| 6 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull/Renault | 1:35.910s | 1.790s | 26 |
| 7 | Felipe Massa | Williams/Mercedes | 1:36.261s | 2.141s | 39 |
| 8 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 1:36.329s | 2.209s | 38 |
| 9 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas/Ferrari | 1:36.506s | 2.386s | 31 |
| 10 | Sergio Perez | Force India/Mercedes | 1:36.600s | 2.480s | 38 |
| 11 | Esteban Ocon | Force India/Mercedes | 1:36.654s | 2.534s | 39 |
| 12 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren/Honda | 1:36.765s | 2.645s | 27 |
| 13 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault | 1:36.771s | 2.651s | 22 |
| 14 | Romain Grosjean | Haas/Ferrari | 1:37.039s | 2.919s | 31 |
| 15 | Carlos Sainz | Toro Rosso/Renault | 1:37.083s | 2.963s | 36 |
| 16 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren/Honda | 1:37.125s | 3.005s | 25 |
| 17 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso/Renault | 1:37.300s | 3.180s | 35 |
| 18 | Pascal Wehrlein | Sauber/Ferrari | 1:37.441s | 3.321s | 30 |
| 19 | Lance Stroll | Williams/Mercedes | 1:37.747s | 3.627s | 36 |
| 20 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber/Ferrari | 1:37.819s | 3.699s | 29 |
Result: Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix Practice 1
| Position | Driver | Car | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1:36.074s | – | 19 |
| 2 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1:36.119s | 0.045s | 24 |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:36.681s | 0.607s | 23 |
| 4 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull/Renault | 1:37.174s | 1.100s | 19 |
| 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:37.230s | 1.156s | 19 |
| 6 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull/Renault | 1:37.290s | 1.216s | 19 |
| 7 | Sergio Perez | Force India/Mercedes | 1:37.457s | 1.383s | 29 |
| 8 | Felipe Massa | Williams/Mercedes | 1:37.900s | 1.826s | 29 |
| 9 | Lance Stroll | Williams/Mercedes | 1:37.944s | 1.870s | 30 |
| 10 | Esteban Ocon | Force India/Mercedes | 1:38.065s | 1.991s | 28 |
| 11 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso/Renault | 1:38.496s | 2.422s | 17 |
| 12 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas/Ferrari | 1:38.747s | 2.673s | 23 |
| 13 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren/Honda | 1:38.813s | 2.739s | 16 |
| 14 | Carlos Sainz | Toro Rosso/Renault | 1:38.976s | 2.902s | 17 |
| 15 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault | 1:39.158s | 3.084s | 16 |
| 16 | Romain Grosjean | Haas/Ferrari | 1:39.533s | 3.459s | 17 |
| 17 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren/Honda | 1:39.541s | 3.467s | 19 |
| 18 | Pascal Wehrlein | Sauber/Ferrari | 1:39.731s | 3.657s | 21 |
| 19 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber/Ferrari | 1:40.079s | 4.005s | 20 |
| 20 | Sergey Sirotkin | Renault | – | – | 2 |
Discussion about this post