Russia – Free Practice 2: Verstappen in Command, Gasly Best of the Rest

The Ferraris were swift this morning, significantly outperforming the Mercedes in the first practice session of this Russian weekend.

For the start of the second session, it seems that the teams chose to focus primarily on long stints with Medium or Hard tires, like the Scuderia drivers, Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc, who went out with the yellow-banded compound.

The Monegasque will, however, set a first rather fast benchmark at 1:34.148, 3 tenths better than his best time of the morning. Meanwhile, his German teammate misses his braking point several times in turn number 2. He records a time of 1:34.306 with a record in the first sector that should favor the red cars and their high speed on the straight.

A problematic turn number 2

Vettel is not the only one cutting through turn number 2, where, in case of an incident, drivers must follow a complicated path amid panels meant to slow down the cars. Pierre Gasly loses control of his Toro Rosso at this spot, hitting one of the panels, soon followed by Sergio Perez who isn’t troubled and brazenly cuts the corner with his Racing Point.

A few laps later, it was Valtteri Bottas who got caught out in the same corner, forcing Race Control to deploy the Virtual Safety Car to repair the barrier damaged by Gasly.

Verstappen as a true challenger to the Ferraris

After a good half-hour session, the leading drivers finally decide to fit the softest tires. Charles Leclerc immediately sets the new benchmark with a 1:33.497 but is beaten by Max Verstappen in full attack mode at the wheel of his Red Bull. The Dutchman sets an impressive 1:33.162.

The Mercedes, on the other hand, are not having a good time. Lewis Hamilton sets the provisional 4th fastest time at 1:34.153, behind Bottas but ahead of Sebastian Vettel who missed his fastest lap. The pleasant surprise comes from Pierre Gasly who clings to the provisional 6th place half an hour before the end of the session. Given their lap times, the Honda-powered drivers might have some regrets about their engine change for Saturday and the resulting penalties.

At the bottom of the standings, aside from the Williams bringing up the rear, the Alfa Romeos are in trouble this weekend on a challenging track. Alexander Albon in his Red Bull and Carlos Sainz in the McLaren surprisingly accompany the backmarkers, though their race pace is more reassuring than their quick laps, even if the Thai driver manages to climb into the Top 10 at the end of the session.

The complete classification of FP2: