Abu Dhabi – Free Practice 2: Lewis Hamilton responds to Sebastian Vettel
Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes regain control after Sebastian Vettel's best time this morning. The battle seems to be between the Greys and the Reds, with the Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen waiting in ambush.
This morning, the Ferraris caught Lewis Hamilton by surprise thanks to the best time set by Sebastian Vettel. The likely runner-up of the 2017 world championship is ready to confirm the good form of the Scuderia and build on his recent victory in Brazil, which gave some comfort to his team, very disappointed to have let slip a title that seemed promised to them at mid-season.
During the break between the two sessions, Brandon Hartley learned that he would receive a 10-place grid penalty on Sunday following a new MGU-H change on his Toro Rosso. Renault’s reliability issues are unsolvable at this end of the season as Carlos Sainz, on the official team, has also been forced to change his engine between the two sessions and will therefore also face a penalty.
Lewis Hamilton, upset, immediately sets the first benchmark of the session with a 1:39.720. He leads ahead of Kimi Räikkönen and Valtteri Bottas. Vettel, on the other hand, went out on Super Soft tires, preferring to test the track in night conditions similar to those the drivers will encounter in qualifying and the race.
The British world champion improves his time once again to be the first to break the 1 minute 39 barrier. With a time of 1:38.912, he pushes Daniel Ricciardo in his Red Bull to nearly half a second behind, placing him in second position. Meanwhile, Stoffel Vandoorne spins his McLaren in corner number 20, causing a temporary yellow flag.
🔄 Yellow flags fluttering as @svandoorne (P7) spins at Turn 20 #AbuDhabiGP 🇦🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/uvymyRBDW8
— Formula 1 (@F1) 24 novembre 2017
After half an hour into the session, things start to speed up. Bottas, then Vettel, and finally Hamilton trade the fastest time. The Brit holds the top spot on the leaderboard with a 1:37.877, one and a half tenths ahead of Vettel and half a second ahead of Räikkönen. All these drivers are on Ultra Soft tires.
Despite being hindered on a fast lap by Romain Grosjean’s Haas, Daniel Ricciardo confirms Red Bull’s good form at the end of the season by securing the 3rd provisional time in 1:38.180, just three-tenths behind the best time still held by Hamilton.
📻: “He was good. He didn’t get in my way…”
Huge dose of sarcasm from @danielricciardo as he’s blocked by @RGrosjean #FP2 #AbuDhabiGP 🇦🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/FTZ8nkn7Xx
— Formula 1 (@F1) 24 novembre 2017
Romain Grosjean continues to have a difficult day as electrical problems keep him stuck in his garage. Meanwhile, his teammate Kevin Magnussen struggles in 16th place, more than 3 seconds off the best time.
The American team seems to be losing ground in its fight for the 6th spot in the constructors’ standings to Renault, whose two drivers, Nico Hülkenberg and Carlos Sainz, are 9th and 13th respectively.
In the last half-hour, long stints set the pace of the session. Sebastian Vettel in his Ferrari and Daniel Ricciardo in the Red Bull seem among the fastest, behind the Mercedes, in this exercise with average times around 1 minute 43 on a series of 10 laps on Super Soft tires. Hamilton, meanwhile, is running above 1 minute 43 without any significant problems.
The session actually ends with the best time from the Briton, who takes over after Ferrari and Vettel’s leadership during the first session.
The complete classification of FP2:
Final timing screen from #FP2 at the #AbuDhabiGP 👇 pic.twitter.com/SbQ4YIHG1w
— Renault Sport F1 (@RenaultSportF1) 24 novembre 2017
