Russia – Free Practice 2: Hamilton ahead of sprightly McLarens, Ricciardo breaks down
The second free practice session of the Russian Grand Prix in Formula 1 saw Lewis Hamilton comfortably dominate Kevin Magnussen at the wheel of a McLaren that seems competitive both in short and especially long stints.
Still great weather above the Sochi circuit as the second free practice session of the Russian Grand Prix is about to start. Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber) and Kamui Kobayashi (Caterham) return to their seats after giving them up in the morning.
The session is underway! Max Chilton is the first driver to take to the track. He will be the sole Marussia driver this weekend after the team decided not to field a replacement for Jules Bianchi. Quickly, most drivers head out with performance runs. Jenson Button confirms McLaren’s strong form by being the first man to go under 1:42.0.
The Mercedes quickly take control, however. Button is still the only driver who manages to get close to the Silver Arrows.
After half an hour, Rosberg leads Hamilton, Button, Vergne, and Alonso. The Toro Rossos seem to be in better shape than the Red Bulls. Romain Grosjean keeps complaining about his Lotus: « There is a problem, I can’t drive, » he says over the radio. Shortly after, Esteban Gutierrez is the first driver to switch to soft tires.
Kimi Räikkönen, who couldn’t set a proper time due to a technical issue, emerges to achieve the fifth provisional time halfway through the session. On soft tires, Button takes the lead but Rosberg quickly overtakes him by just over a tenth. Magnussen fails by 38 thousandths against the Mercedes. Hamilton eventually gets everyone’s agreement by clocking 1:39.817, six-tenths ahead of Magnussen and seven-tenths ahead of Rosberg. Then he improves his mark by two-tenths. He holds the records in all three sectors with 35 minutes remaining.
After an hour, Hamilton leads Magnussen, Rosberg, Bottas, and Button. The 2009 world champion is informed over the radio that during his long stint, he is matching the pace of the Mercedes cars with tires that hold until a flat spot forces him to pit due to vibrations. Moments later, Daniel Ricciardo slows down on the track and brings his car to a stop. The red flag is immediately waved. The Red Bull is smoking at the engine’s air intake.
The session resumes for three minutes, so only one attempt for all the drivers who take off, but no notable improvements.
| N° | Driver | Team | Times | Gap | Laps |
1 | Hamilton | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1:39.630 | 27 | |
2 | Magnussen | McLaren Mercedes | 1:40.494 | +0.864 | 32 |
3 | Alonso | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:40.504 | +0.874 | 32 |
4 | Rosberg | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1:40.542 | +0.912 | 30 |
5 | Bottas | Williams Martini Racing | 1:40.573 | +0.943 | 33 |
6 | Button | McLaren Mercedes | 1:40.718 | +1.088 | 32 |
7 | Massa | Williams Martini Racing | 1:40.731 | +1.101 | 30 |
8 | Kvyat | Scuderia Toro Rosso | 1:41.108 | +1.478 | 32 |
9 | Vettel | Infiniti Red Bull Racing | 1:41.396 | +1.766 | 30 |
10 | Vergne | Scuderia Toro Rosso | 1:41.531 | +1.901 | 33 |
11 | Räikkönen | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:41.630 | +2.000 | 24 |
12 | Hülkenberg | Sahara Force India F1 Team | 1:41.677 | +2.047 | 27 |
13 | Ricciardo | Infiniti Red Bull Racing | 1:42.061 | +2.431 | 25 |
14 | Perez | Sahara Force India F1 Team | 1:42.090 | +2.460 | 29 |
15 | Sutil | Sauber F1 Team | 1:42.233 | +2.603 | 31 |
16 | Grosjean | Lotus F1 Team | 1:42.892 | +3.262 | 30 |
17 | Maldonado | Lotus F1 Team | 1:42.905 | +3.275 | 33 |
18 | Gutierrez | Sauber F1 Team | 1:43.055 | +3.425 | 33 |
19 | Ericsson | Caterham F1 Team | 1:44.135 | +4.505 | 22 |
20 | Chilton | Marussia F1 Team | 1:44.530 | +4.900 | 29 |
21 | Kobayashi | Caterham F1 Team | 1:44.952 | +5.322 | 27 |
