Sochi, FP2: Hamilton sets searing pace in Russia

Hamilton dominates second Sochi practice

By Franck Drui

10 October 2014 - 13:35
Sochi, FP2: Hamilton sets searing (...)

Nico Rosberg made history as the first Formula One driver to set a timed lap at the inaugural Russian Grand Prix on Friday but championship leading Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton still ended up on top.

Rosberg set a best time of one minute 42.311 seconds around the Sochi circuit, which snakes past some of the landmark venues used at this year’s Winter Olympics, in a sunny morning session with Hamilton second.

The Briton, who leads Rosberg by 10 points after winning the last three races, went top of the timesheets in an interrupted afternoon session with a best of 1:39.630.

"I like the new circuit; it’s got really good grip and great corners, with a lot at medium speed. It’s good fun," said Hamilton.

"The car has been feeling really good today. McLaren look close which is great for everyone as it should make for a decent race. We’ve got quite a good balance with the car so there are a lot of boxes ticked but we still have work to do."

Rosberg said he went down a different setup route to Hamilton in the afternoon and would revert to a more conservative one for Saturday.

The red flag came out eight minutes from the end when Australian Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull had a power unit failure.

Mercedes are expected to wrap up the constructors’ championship on Sunday with three races to spare, having won 12 of the 15 so far with eight one-two finishes. Hamilton, the 2008 champion, is chasing his ninth win of the season.

McLaren’s Jenson Button was the early pacesetter as drivers got to grips with a layout compared to the former Valencia street circuit and Singapore, with the 2009 champion ending the morning as the third fastest.

He also collected two fines totalling 1,100 euros ($1,391.72) for pitlane speeding and was sixth fastest in the second session.

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso was fourth and third in the two sessions, with Danish rookie Kevin Magnussen, Button’s team mate, fifth and then second in the afternoon.

The only Russian regular, Toro Rosso’s 20-year-old rookie Daniil Kvyat, was seventh in the morning and then eighth.

That was still ahead of both Red Bulls, his 2015 employers, with four times champion Sebastian Vettel only ninth.

Kvyat was joined for the first session by 19-year-old compatriot Sergey Sirotkin, making his debut at a race weekend in the Sauber usually driven by Mexican Esteban Gutierrez.

Williams had a disrupted opening session when a problem with a tyre blanket damaged a set of Valtteri Bottas’s tyres.

Pos.DriverTeamTimeLaps
01 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes AMG 1:39.630 27
02 Kevin Magnussen McLaren Mercedes 1:40.494 32
03 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:40.504 32
04 Nico Rosberg Mercedes AMG 1:40.542 30
05 Valtteri Bottas Williams Mercedes 1:40.573 33
06 Jenson Button McLaren Mercedes 1:40.718 32
07 Felipe Massa Williams Mercedes 1:40.731 30
08 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso Renault 1:41.108 32
09 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Renault 1:41.396 30
10 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso Renault 1:41.531 33
11 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:41.630 24
12 Nico Hulkenberg Force India Mercedes 1:41.677 27
13 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Renault 1:42.061 25
14 Sergio Perez Force India Mercedes 1:42.090 29
15 Adrian Sutil Sauber Ferrari 1:42.233 31
16 Romain Grosjean Lotus Renault 1:42.892 30
17 Pastor Maldonado Lotus Renault 1:42.905 33
18 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber Ferrari 1:43.055 33
19 Marcus Ericsson Caterham Renault 1:44.135 22
20 Max Chilton Marussia Ferrari 1:44.530 29
21 Kamui Kobayashi Caterham Renault 1:44.952 27

Search

Formula 1 news

Pics

Videos