Vettel leads close Ferrari one-two with ‘untidy lap’

Sebastian Vettel led a one-two for Ferrari in the second practice session for the Brazilian Grand Prix despite not being satisfied with his fastest lap.

“It was not a very tidy lap,” said Vettel on the radio. “[But] I am OK there. Focus on the long run. I know what I can do with these tyres so don’t worry.”

Lewis Hamilton, fifth-fastest, might also have lapped faster had he not caught his team mate at the end of his first flying lap on soft compound tyres. Mercedes gave Valtteri Bottas a two-second warning before Hamilton caught him, but he remained on the racing line at the exit of Mergulho, forcing Hamilton to dodge around him.

“Valtteri was just sitting there,” complained Hamilton, who had set the fastest middle sector time before catching his team mate. Bottas set the fourth-fastest time, yet was just 0.154s off Vettel, with Max Verstappen separating him from the Ferraris.

It wasn’t the only time in the session that the Mercedes operation didn’t seem up to its usual well-oiled standards. Hamilton arrived in the pit box at one point to find Bottas already occupying it. “You should have told me Valtteri was in, I would have made space,” he said.

Kevin Magnussen was an encouraging sixth-fastest for Haas, though Romain Grosjean struggled to get a good lap in and ended up 10 places behind his team mate. Behind him Daniel Ricciardo’s Renault, Kimi Raikkonen’s Alfa Romeo, Alexander Albon’s Red Bull and Carlos Sainz Jnr’s McLaren completed the top 10.

Toro Rosso endured a troubled session. Pierre Gasly came to a stop before the end with an apparent engine failure, and Daniil Kvyat caused a red flag which ended the session with five minutes left to run. His Toro Rosso appeared to shut down as he approached Juncao, sending him spinning off.

Robert Kubica triggered a red flag at the beginning of the session when he crashed on his second lap of the day, Nicholas Latifi having driven his FW42 in first practice. Kubica’s car snapped into an unprotected barrier at turn three, causing heavy damage.

Georgwe Russell as over a second slower than the next-slowest car on a tough day for Williams. “I’m really struggling,” he admitted. “Just no grip. Tyres are just not biting.”

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Second practice visual gaps

Drivers more then ten seconds off the pace omitted.

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2019 Brazilian Grand Prix

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