Valtteri Bottas edged Sebastian Vettel as while Charles Leclerc suffered another reliability setback during Friday’s second practice session for Formula 1’s Chinese Grand Prix. Bottas clocked a best time of 1:33.330 to eclipse FP1 leader Sebastian Vettel by a mere 0.027s as drivers switched to using Soft tyres in cool and overcast conditions at Shanghai.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen finished just 0.221s behind Bottas as an opportunity to top the session slipped through his fingers when he drifted wide at the final turn. Fourth-placed Lewis Hamilton was almost half a second further adrift; both he and Bottas had early spins on their out laps on an initial run amid struggles in getting tyres up to temperature.
Scuderia Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was a subdued seventh and missed the final 30 minutes of the session, when drivers typically carry out long run simulations, as the team suffered another reliability concern, two weeks after the engine issue that denied him a maiden win in Bahrain. Charles returned to the pits in order for Ferrari to undertake cooling system checks; TV footage showed mechanics cleaning leaked coolant from the floor of the garage beneath the SF90.
Ferrari stressed it was “no big concern” and that it had parked Leclerc’s car for the remainder of the session as a precaution to avoid any potential further damage.
Renault and McLaren impressed with short-run pace as Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz Jr. finished fifth and sixth respectively, the German just 0.059s behind Hamilton, while Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo were eighth and ninth.
Pierre Gasly was again off the pace as his struggles with Red Bull’s RB15 continued, with the Frenchman at the foot of the top 10, nine-tenths behind Verstappen.
Full results from Free Practice 2 for the Chinese Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, round three of the 2019 Formula 1 season.
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Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix – Free Practice 2 Results
1. Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport 1m33.330s
2. Sebastian Vettel GER Scuderia Ferrari + 0.027s
3. Max Verstappen NED Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Honda + 0.221s
4. Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport + 0.707s
5. Nico Hulkenberg GER Renault F1 Team + 0.766s
6. Carlos Sainz ESP McLaren F1 Team + 0.811s
7. Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari + 0.828s
8. Lando Norris GBR McLaren F1 Team + 0.966s
9. Daniel Ricciardo AUS Renault F1 Team + 1.006s
10. Pierre Gasly FRA Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Honda + 1.125s
11. Kimi Raikkonen ITA Alfa Romeo Racing + 1.221s
12. Alexander Albon THA Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda + 1.304s
13. Daniil Kvyat RUS Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda + 1.364s
14. Lance Stroll CAN SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team + 1.449s
15. Sergio Perez MEX SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team + 1.454s
16. Kevin Magnussen DEN Rich Energy Haas F1 Team + 1.458s
17. Romain Grosjean FRA Rich Energy Haas F1 Team + 2.374s
18. Antonio Giovinazzi ITA Alfa Romeo Racing + 2.584s
19. Robert Kubica POL ROKiT Williams Racing + 2.791s
20. George Russell GBR ROKiT Williams Racing + 2.899s
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