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Max Verstappen concluded Friday practice on top of the timesheets, three-tenths ahead of the rest of the field in Sochi.
The Dutchman set a 1:33.162 on his low-fuel qualifying sim run, which put him ahead of Charles Leclerc, who was the quickest of the Ferrari drivers.
The two Mercedes' of Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton followed the top, with Bottas ahead of the five-time world champion - as he was after the opening practice session on Friday morning.
Sebastian Vettel was fifth in the second Ferrari, over one second down on the session-topping time set by Verstappen.
Alexander Albon had a session of limited running, as Red Bull discovered floor damage early on, meaning he set just 18 laps during the 90 minutes.
Pierre Gasly was sixth in the Toro Rosso, and had a close moment with teammate Daniil Kvyat during the session, as the two almost came together on the exit of Turn 2.
Both Racing Point cars managed to slot themselves into the top ten, with Sergio Perez's lap time placing him into seventh place, while Lance Stroll was ninth.
Nico Hulkenberg was eighth and in between the two pink cars, while Albon rounded out the top ten after he set a handful of laps in the final 20 minutes.
Williams once again brought up the timesheets, behind the Alfa Romeo of Antonio Giovinazzi and the McLaren of Carlos Sainz.
Sochi Autodrom - 27 September 2019
Grand Prix of Belgium
G. Zhou
959 members have this team as their favourite
Replies (2)
Login to replymcbhargav
Posts: 1,332
Merc is playing the under dog game. I would not discount them yet.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
I won't either, especially race pace. However, the straights on this track are vital. Nail them, and you are set. Ferrari already have those, and now they are creeping up on the slower bits too. The season is no doubt over in terms of the title winner, but I think Ferrari could come out on top here too.