Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc swapped places at the top of the times sheets in the second practice session at Sochi, with the Red Bull driver coming out on top.
Leclerc saw off his team mate and the two Mercedes drivers but had to settle for the second-fastest time, a third of a second slower than Verstappen.The pair were very closely matched through the first two sectors of the Sochi Autodrom. But Verstappen’s car seemed able to keep its tyres in better shape for the final sector, where he found almost all of his three-tenths advantage over the Ferrari.
The Mercedes drivers struggled to get close to the pace of either. Lewis Hamilton expressed surprise at his inability to get close to Leclerc’s time when both were running on the medium compound, and was almost eight-tenths of a second slower on the soft tyres. Team mate Valtteri Bottas got slightly closer, but was still more than six tenths of a second away.
Sebastian Vettel’s first effort on softs did not go to plan and he only managed to set a time a second off Verstappen’s best. That was at least better than Alexander Albon was able to manage – the second Red Bull was over two seconds behind the first, in 10th place, with some floor damage.
Albon also had a near-miss with Hamilton, who almost ran into him at turn three. Earlier in the session Hamilton got in Carlos Sainz Jnr’s way, prompting an angry shake of the McLaren driver’s fist.
Sixth place therefore went to Pierre Gasly, whose place at Red Bull Albon took four races ago, then the Racing Point pair separated by Nico Hulkenberg, who was again the quicker of the two Renault drivers. Kevin Magnussen ended the session 13th but was told by his team to pit with a suspected problem.
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| Pos. | No. | Driver | Car | Best lap | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda | 1’33.162 | 29 | |
| 2 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1’33.497 | 0.335 | 33 |
| 3 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1’33.808 | 0.646 | 22 |
| 4 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’33.960 | 0.798 | 32 |
| 5 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1’34.201 | 1.039 | 32 |
| 6 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso-Honda | 1’34.971 | 1.809 | 26 |
| 7 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Racing Point-Mercedes | 1’34.998 | 1.836 | 31 |
| 8 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 1’35.026 | 1.864 | 33 |
| 9 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point-Mercedes | 1’35.176 | 2.014 | 31 |
| 10 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Red Bull-Honda | 1’35.216 | 2.054 | 18 |
| 11 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Renault | 1’35.223 | 2.061 | 33 |
| 12 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso-Honda | 1’35.337 | 2.175 | 38 |
| 13 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 1’35.351 | 2.189 | 26 |
| 14 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | 1’35.370 | 2.208 | 28 |
| 15 | 7 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’35.374 | 2.212 | 34 |
| 16 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas-Ferrari | 1’35.593 | 2.431 | 31 |
| 17 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | McLaren-Renault | 1’35.635 | 2.473 | 29 |
| 18 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’36.004 | 2.842 | 29 |
| 19 | 63 | George Russell | Williams-Mercedes | 1’36.785 | 3.623 | 38 |
| 20 | 88 | Robert Kubica | Williams-Mercedes | 1’37.838 | 4.676 | 36 |
Second practice visual gaps
Max Verstappen – 1’33.162
+0.335 Charles Leclerc – 1’33.497
+0.646 Valtteri Bottas – 1’33.808
+0.798 Lewis Hamilton – 1’33.960
+1.039 Sebastian Vettel – 1’34.201
+1.809 Pierre Gasly – 1’34.971
+1.836 Sergio Perez – 1’34.998
+1.864 Nico Hulkenberg – 1’35.026
+2.014 Lance Stroll – 1’35.176
+2.054 Alexander Albon – 1’35.216
+2.061 Lando Norris – 1’35.223
+2.175 Daniil Kvyat – 1’35.337
+2.189 Kevin Magnussen – 1’35.351
+2.208 Daniel Ricciardo – 1’35.370
+2.212 Kimi Raikkonen – 1’35.374
+2.431 Romain Grosjean – 1’35.593
+2.473 Carlos Sainz Jnr – 1’35.635
+2.842 Antonio Giovinazzi – 1’36.004
+3.623 George Russell – 1’36.785
+4.676 Robert Kubica – 1’37.838
Drivers more then ten seconds off the pace omitted.
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2019 Russian Grand Prix
- “Huge run of bad luck” caused Williams spare parts shortage
- Ferrari are over-complicating their driver tactics, says Marko
- Steiner faces investigation over “idiotic steward” radio message
- Kubica: “We were very lucky” not to have parts problem sooner
- Leclerc: Ferrari will ensure team orders are obeyed
Vincent (@vinnivinni)
27th September 2019, 14:56
This could get interesting ….
theRealMax (@millionus)
27th September 2019, 18:21
Indeed… Didn’t think this would be the track to separate performance.
svianna (@svianna)
27th September 2019, 18:41
To all those people who could not wait to see Kubica back in F1……over 4.5 seconds difference to the fastest and even worse, 1 second a lap slower than GR….have your dreams be shattered yet?
When will Claire resign? what a shameful season for a once glorious team….
Rita Mary Murphy
28th September 2019, 1:39
Russell is very talented – Claire should be congratulated on putting a good mix of experienced and fast drivers in there dog of a car.
iCarbs (@icarby)
27th September 2019, 14:58
Predicting Ferrari 1/2 for race win, I wonder if Mercedes will win another race this year…
hamiledon
27th September 2019, 15:29
It’s hard to say from this day but I think Max and Lewis will fight for the race win this weekend. Leclerc may take pole position but it also seems a little possibility.
DaveW (@dmw)
27th September 2019, 17:13
Good question. MB is still very competitive in the races though. It really appears to be Leclerc adding a little edge to get ahead of Hamilton and force MB to throw the kitchen sink at getting around him on track, resulting in things like running tires to the cords in Monza and greedy, off strategic moves like in Singapore. Leclerc has been absolutely stunning in the past few races as a driver. I also foresee another duel between Leclerc and Hamilton with Hamilton unable to get by or hold a lead due to Ferrari engine power.
papaya
27th September 2019, 15:34
Twilight of Mercedes hybrid PU domination has definitely faded, actually their 1st half season domination was overhyped, it was actually Ferrari give away the trophy to Mercedes by looking how they dominated the pre-season tests. Next year Mercedes PU performance will be dropping to 3rd or 4th.
AMG44 (@amg44)
27th September 2019, 15:52
Agree fully. Mercedes has to find out the Ferrari ‘PU secret’ soon or its going to be very tough for them next season.
Chaitanya
27th September 2019, 16:12
For last 2 seasons Mercedes consitently didnt have the best PU on grid. They were 2nd or 3rd best. It was all about working well as a team and consistently developing the upgrade package that works.
Lums (@lums)
27th September 2019, 16:26
If anyone asks how important it is for a team to have a solid driver in their seat, point to Lewis, Max and Leclerc, especially Lewis. He (Lewis) has been the difference btw Ferrari and Mercedes championship campaigns in the last 3 years. Leclerc is also showing us that if Kimi had stayed at Ferrari this year, Lewis would probably have won the last 3 races, easy.
Imagine Valtteri being the lead driver for Mercedes for the last 3 years (cos you know, anyone can win in a sliver arrow), Seb would be a 7 time world champion. Drivers are probably the most important part of the car when all things are equal
GechiChan (@gechichan)
27th September 2019, 16:29
Mercedes 3rd best engine for the last 2 seasons? If let’s say Ferrari PU was 1st, who was then 2nd?
Warheart (@warheart)
27th September 2019, 17:13
@gechichan has to be either Honda or Renault. Can’t say which possibility is funnier, to be honest
MG1982 (@mg1982)
27th September 2019, 16:15
You probably don’t watch F1 regularly, otherwise you’d know that the tyres were Ferrari’s weak spot, and not the PU. Still, 3 consecutive wins doesn’t change the fact that Mercedes seems, so far, a better car overall.
Mcal
27th September 2019, 16:37
Totally agree!
papaya
27th September 2019, 17:16
Roses are red, violet are blue, Mercedes best car, Ferrari wins :-)
AMG44 (@amg44)
27th September 2019, 15:50
Wow that Mercedes is so dominant…..Its amazing just a few races ago some people were wondering whether Mercedes would win every race this season. I will be amazed now if Mercedes will be able to win another race this season under normal circumstances. Reality is Mercedes was never dominant since the beginning of 2017.
koddamn (@gufdamm)
27th September 2019, 16:01
The well oiled machine that is the Mercedes team flattered their car since 2017. Albeit Ferrari team underperforming with their package was a factor in the perception as well. I would go as far as to say Lewis detractors, giving more than enough credit of his performances to the car, also aided in this perception.
AMG44 (@amg44)
27th September 2019, 16:50
@gufdamm very well said
Rockgod (@rockgod)
27th September 2019, 16:57
Don’t you know, it’s always the car when Lewis wins and it’s the driver when everyone else does, that makes the difference? /s
hamiledon
27th September 2019, 20:46
Lol, mercedes is still the best race car, just their drivers not good passing others on circuit without clear 1sec perlap advantage.
Kingshark (@kingshark)
27th September 2019, 16:55
@amg44
I would still rate this season’s Mercedes car on par with the best Red Bull cars from 2010-2013. Just because they have lost their ridiculous advantage from 2014-2016 doesn’t change the fact that they still have the best car.
t3x
27th September 2019, 22:43
The title is already wrapped up, the season is over, they are letting the others win a bit for the show. Otherwise no one would watch F1 anymore.
Esploratore (@esploratore)
28th September 2019, 3:20
Agreed, mercedes is the best car of the 2019 season, you can say it’s not the best right now but still competitive and it brought the fastest race pace the last 3 races.
GechiChan (@gechichan)
27th September 2019, 16:31
Let’s not get all hyped again over Friday practice. As Singapore showed last week, where Ferrari were nowhere in FP1 and FP2, Saturday is all that matters. Also, the weather might be a big factor for qualy and race.
Jesper (@jesperfey13)
27th September 2019, 17:57
Interesting comments about Mercedes’s domination being over. Apparently Mercedes was not overperforming, but Ferrari and Red Bull were underperforming due to problems at the front end of the car.
After Red Bull’s update at Austria they have been very competitive and now Ferrari had an updated nose they seem to have found the much needed downforce. The rest of the season could get very interesting and next year we could even see a 3-team title fight!
Esploratore (@esploratore)
28th September 2019, 3:21
That’s what many of us are looking forward to for a while.
Islander
27th September 2019, 18:47
Kimi’s abysmal showing last weekend looks to be corrected somewhat here, even if Q3 looks to be out of bounds so far….
Fingers crossed for a Max V result!
David (@davidjwest)
28th September 2019, 9:07
Any news on long run pace or speed trap data?