Mercedes lock out Friday Practice.

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The 2020 Formula one season has finally got underway and it seems that Mercedes have hit the ground running, topping the timesheets in both sessions.

FP1 Report.

Practice 1 got underway in relatively overcast conditions with a few spots of rain early in to the session. Sebastian Vettel ventured onto intermediates, but immediately came in as he deemed the conditions inappropriate for the green wall tyre. At the end of the first hour, Lewis Hamilton topped the standings, followed by Valterri Bottas. Ferrari didn’t prominently feature throughout the session, choosing instead to focus on their race trim. Haas’s Romain Grosjean had a nightmare start however, a reported brake issue halting any progress throughout the session. As a result, the French driver only managed a disappointing 5 laps. Max Verstappen had some sideways action with 15 minutes to go, as the Dutchman attempted a late session charge. Dani Kvyat joined in the action as well, spinning at the last corner and almost collecting the Williams of George Russell. McLaren had a strong session with Carlos Sainz taking a solid 4^th place, ahead of Perez and teammate Lando Norris.

FP1 Results

1. Hamilton
2. Bottas
3. Verstappen
4. Sainz
5. Perez
6. Norris
7. Albon
8. Ricciardo
9. Magnussen
10. Leclerc
11. Stroll
12. Vettel
13. Ocon
14. Giovinazzi
15. Raikkonen
16. Gasly
17. Russell
18. Latifi
19. Kvyat
20. Grosjean

     

    FP2 Report.

    As practice 2 got underway, all the cars took to the grid on dry compound tyres. First out was Grosjean, attempting to make up the time that he lost in FP1. Latifi and Kyvat spun early on, both pushing their cars relatively hard. Alfa Romero’s Kimi Raikkonen also had a wide moment, taking a trip through the gravel at turn 6. Grosjean and Albon joined the spinners late on as well which, even for Friday practice, is an unusually high amount overall. However, Mercedes finished 1-2 again, with a punchy Sergio Perez rounding out the top 3. The midfield battle is looking tight with less than a second separating 3rd and 16th. Of course, this is just practice and many teams, especially the top 3, are predicted to be sandbagging at this point.

1. Hamilton
2. Bottas
3. Perez
4. Vettel
5. Ricciardo
6. Norris
7. Stroll
8. Verstappen
9. Leclerc
10. Sainz
11. Ocon
12. Kvyat
13. Albon
14. Giovinazzi
15. Magnussen
16. Grosjean
17. Gasly
18. Russell
19. Raikkonen
20. Latifi

 

Feature image credit: Formula1.com