Valtteri Bottas led another Mercedes one-two in the second practice session for the Russian Grand Prix.
He was separated from team mate Lewis Hamilton by four-hundredths of a second after the second hour of running.
However the session was disrupted by a brief red flag caused when Antonio Giovinazzi spun backwards into a barrier at turn eight. He suffered substantial rear-end damage to his Alfa Romeo, but was able to continue before he was told to stop on track. The session was neutralised while the marshals reaplced the wrecked TecPro barrier, which left its polystyrene and foam innards spilled across the track.
Bottas led Hamilton for the whole session, with Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen initially looking competitive but both fading to the lower half of the top ten over the course of second practice.
Hamilton had an uncharacteristically messy incident in his pit box, knocking over his front jack operator. He said on the radio that he had accidentally engaged the ‘brake magic’ mode which effectively disables rear braking in order to add heat to the front. This was much the same error he had made during the race restart at the end of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Mercedes confirmed to Hamilton that the mechanic involved had given a thumbs-up gesture to show he was okay.
Pierre Gasly had a strange incident as the chequered flag fell, when he ran over the sausage kerb at turn two and shattered the front wing of his AlphaTauri, disappearing under the car. He was able to head back to the pits slowly but with a clear demonstration of the risk of running wide.
Despite the incident, Gasly was able to set the third-fastest time, within three tenths of Bottas. Lando Norris, who had had a slightly scrappy morning session, was fourth fastest while Gasly and his team mates, Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo, were left 17th and 18th.
Both Alpine and both Ferrari cars placed within the top ten times, Sergio Perez only managing 11th for Red Bull.
2021 Russian Grand Prix second practice result
Pos. | No. | Driver | Car | Best lap | Gap | Laps |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1’33.593 | 19 | |
2 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’33.637 | 0.044 | 22 |
3 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri-Honda | 1’33.845 | 0.252 | 22 |
4 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’34.154 | 0.561 | 17 |
5 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine-Renault | 1’34.402 | 0.809 | 23 |
6 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda | 1’34.621 | 1.028 | 20 |
7 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Ferrari | 1’34.678 | 1.085 | 22 |
8 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine-Renault | 1’34.762 | 1.169 | 21 |
9 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 1’34.837 | 1.244 | 22 |
10 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1’34.925 | 1.332 | 24 |
11 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull-Honda | 1’34.938 | 1.345 | 22 |
12 | 7 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’35.052 | 1.459 | 23 |
13 | 63 | George Russell | Williams-Mercedes | 1’35.094 | 1.501 | 19 |
14 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’35.178 | 1.585 | 14 |
15 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 1’35.334 | 1.741 | 21 |
16 | 6 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams-Mercedes | 1’35.411 | 1.818 | 19 |
17 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’35.630 | 2.037 | 12 |
18 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri-Honda | 1’35.954 | 2.361 | 23 |
19 | 9 | Nikita Mazepin | Haas-Ferrari | 1’36.099 | 2.506 | 19 |
20 | 47 | Mick Schumacher | Haas-Ferrari | 1’36.230 | 2.637 | 20 |
Second practice visual gaps
Valtteri Bottas – 1’33.593
+0.044 Lewis Hamilton – 1’33.637
+0.252 Pierre Gasly – 1’33.845
+0.561 Lando Norris – 1’34.154
+0.809 Esteban Ocon – 1’34.402
+1.028 Max Verstappen – 1’34.621
+1.085 Carlos Sainz Jnr – 1’34.678
+1.169 Fernando Alonso – 1’34.762
+1.244 Sebastian Vettel – 1’34.837
+1.332 Charles Leclerc – 1’34.925
+1.345 Sergio Perez – 1’34.938
+1.459 Kimi Raikkonen – 1’35.052
+1.501 George Russell – 1’35.094
+1.585 Antonio Giovinazzi – 1’35.178
+1.741 Lance Stroll – 1’35.334
+1.818 Nicholas Latifi – 1’35.411
+2.037 Daniel Ricciardo – 1’35.630
+2.361 Yuki Tsunoda – 1’35.954
+2.506 Nikita Mazepin – 1’36.099
+2.637 Mick Schumacher – 1’36.230
Drivers more then ten seconds off the pace omitted.
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2021 Russian Grand Prix
- Sochi disappointment will make Norris and McLaren stronger, says Seidl
- F1 race start times could be brought forward to avoid Spa-style wash-outs
- New technology in Ferrari’s power unit update vital for 2022 – Binotto
- Mercedes have left too many points on the table, admits Wolff
- We made too many mistakes and didn’t deserve points – Gasly
Jere (@jerejj)
24th September 2021, 14:05
These results could be the grid order save for VER and LEC penalties depending on how the weather evolves.
Adam (@rocketpanda)
24th September 2021, 14:08
I get the feeling this race is going to be a total snooze.
Alex
24th September 2021, 14:18
Yep. Another lesson in dominance from Mercedes. You have to give that team credit to keep developing the quickest car year after year. Just to keep motivation in the team must be difficult on its own.
Matthijs (@matthijs)
24th September 2021, 14:21
Don’t forget about the rain forcast.
Chaitanya
24th September 2021, 15:54
Also it’s colder than usual this weekend.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
24th September 2021, 15:17
It’s probably the best chance for a mercedes 1-2 this year, red bull should’ve had one already in baku, mclaren incredibly ended up being the first and so far only team with it so far, ferrari had maybe an outside chance at monaco, which is interesting to see.
Dan Rooke (@geekzilla9000)
24th September 2021, 17:02
I was speaking to one of my non-F1 fan friends today, and even he’s started to watch the races as he’s gripped by the championship battle, relishes the carnage when they go wheel-to-wheel, and for the first time ever he is checking the TV schedule to see when the next race is. He’s never watched qualifying before but is even watching that now (but he was confused when the qualifying format was different for Monza)
Just goes to show that closer battles (especially for the title) are what really inspire folk to tune in and engage with the sport. Hopefully the new regulations will allow more close racing, and there’ll be less need to chop and change the rules for some races to artificially boost figures.
I agree about a Mercedes 1-2, this is their best chance this season, and the Championship pendulum could swing Max’s way after this weekend. The fact that the only team to get a 1-2 finish so far is McLaren, shows how a great this season is.
erikje
24th September 2021, 17:36
Embarrassing how Lewis kept on driving after almost killing his pitcrew”
/Freethoselittlebirds mode
Aapje (@aapje)
24th September 2021, 20:31
Someone needs a steering wheel redesign…
Michael A.
25th September 2021, 0:16
The main interest part of the Grand Prix will be, just when will Bottas move over to let his team leader pass him?
magon4 (@magon4)
25th September 2021, 7:19
Pierre. Gasly.