Sepang-EL2: Hamilton regains control

The second running session this Friday in Malaysia took place in an overheated atmosphere on the Sepang track. Climatic conditions remained difficult (34° in the air, more than 55° on the track) for the drivers and the single-seaters, but which did not prevent Mercedes to once again rise to the forefront.

Unlike EL1, where Nico Rosberg set the benchmark time, Lewis Hamilton set the best time in 1’34”944, and precedes his teammate by 233 thousandths. Relegated to more than a second in EL1, the Ferrari got closer in the afternoon in Malaysia, Hag failing at 661 thousandths, Räikkönen at 898 thousandths.

Max Verstappen (Red Bull) enters the top 5 by more than a second and is ahead of Sergio Pérez (Force India). Fernando Alonso (McLaren) remains in contact with the Red Bulls by ranking 7th ahead Daniel Ricciardo (Redbull). Nico Hulkenberg (Force India) and Jenson Button (McLaren) finished in the top 10.

Despite some problems affecting its brakes, Carlos Sainz (Toro Rosso) fails at the gates of the first ten positions, and is placed in front of the first Renault R.S.16 by Jolyon Palmer.

For its part, after his setbacks in EL1, Kevin Magnussen was able to return to the track in this second session at the wheel of an R.S.16 which was repaired in time by the Renault Sport mechanics F1 Team. The Dane finished 19th behind the Saubers of Ericsson and Nasr.

The Williams always seem to be behind, with Valtteri Bottas 13th and Felipe Massa 15th who frame the first Haas by Esteban Gutiérrez. Romain Grosjean signs the 20th time ahead of the two Manors of Pascal Wehrlein and Esteban Ocon.

Results Free Trials 2

Pierre Tassel

Sepang-EL2: Hamilton regains control

The Briton beat his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg at the end of the second free practice session for the Malaysian Grand Prix.

The second running session this Friday in Malaysia took place in an overheated atmosphere on the Sepang track. Climatic conditions remained difficult (34° in the air, more than 55° on the track) for the drivers and the cars, but which did not prevent Mercedes from once again rising to the forefront.

Unlike EL1, Lewis Hamilton set the best time in 1'34"944, and precedes his teammate Nico Rosberg by 233 thousandths. Relegated to more than a second in EL1, the Ferraris got closer in the afternoon in Malaysia, Vettel failing at 661 thousandths, Räikkönen at 833 thousandths.

Max Verstappen (Red Bull) enters the top 5 more than a second behind and is ahead of Sergio Pérez (Force India). Fernando Alonso (McLaren) remains in contact with the Red Bulls by ranking 7th ahead of Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull). Nico Hülkenberg (Force India) and Jenson Button (McLaren) finished in the top 10.

Despite some problems affecting his brakes, Carlos Sainz (Toro Rosso) failed to reach the top ten positions, and placed in front of the first Renault R.S.16 of Jolyon Palmer.

For his part, after his setbacks in EL1, Kevin Magnussen was able to return to the track in this second session at the wheel of an R.S.16 which was repaired in time by the Renault Sport F1 Team mechanics. The Dane finished 19th, but like several drivers suffered from pronounced wear on his rear tires.

The Williams still seem to be behind, with Valtteri Bottas 13th and Felipe Massa 15th who flank the first Haas of Esteban Gutiérrez. Romain Grosjean signs the 20th fastest time ahead of the two Manors of Pascal Wehrlein and Esteban Ocon.

Results Free Trials 2

Pierre Tassel