SOCHI, Russia – Formula One championship leader Lewis Hamilton showed no signs of letting up during Friday’s free practice sessions for the Russian Grand Prix, posting the fastest lap of the day at Sochi Autodrom as he chases his eighth win of the year.
Hamilton led a Silver Arrow one-two performance on Friday, as the Mercedes duo strapped on Pirelli’s hypersoft tires for the second session and unleashed the true potential of their W09, firing back after Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel led the opening practice round.
When all was said and done, Hamilton ended up two tenths of a second up on teammate Valtteri Bottas and four tenths clear of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who was third-fastest overall.
Hamilton’s fastest lap on Friday was one minute, 33.385 seconds around the 5.848-kilometer course, and the four-time champion was genuinely surprised to be on top at a track he’s struggled at in the past.
“Sochi has been one of the weaker circuits for me in the past, particularly last year, so I’ve done a lot of work to understand the balance and see where I can improve to try and rectify that,” noted Hamilton. “Today has been good in that sense. From every race we’re learning more and more and particularly the last few races have helped us to really gauge which foot we need to start on for the weekend.
“We’ve brought more upgrades this weekend; there’s so much work going on at home and it’s just really encouraging when you come to a race and you get an upgrade, knowing that this late in the season we’re also already working on next year’s car,” he added. “That’s something that motivates me to get the best out of everything. It’s been a good day for us, so let’s hope that it continues tomorrow.”
Bottas’ best time during FP2 was a lap of 1:33.584, also on the hypersoft tires.
“It was a good day for us; on paper it looks like we should be competitive, but it’s only Friday. The initial feeling of the car was good; however, there’s still work to do,” Bottas noted. “It’s so difficult to get a perfect set-up for each corner on this track, because the balance is so different throughout the lap. We brought some aerodynamic updates to the car that worked well and added more grip; we’ll see if that’s going to be enough for the weekend.
“It seemed like Ferrari weren’t really showing everything they have, so they will probably be stronger tomorrow. I think it’s going to be very close, so we’ll have to keep pushing.”
Verstappen’s teammate Daniel Ricciardo followed him in fourth on the time sheets, with Vettel only able to muster the fifth-best lap overall after his practice-leading performance in the first session.
The sister Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen, Force India’s Sergio Perez, Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly, Perez’s teammate Esteban Ocon and Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson completed the top 10.
