The French Grand Prix weekend got off to a hot start and the battle in front seems to be as tight as ever. Lewis Hamilton registered the fastest laps in both sessions, with Valtteri Bottas in second place during FP1. Red Bull‘s Daniel Ricciardo followed the English driver in FP2.
Friday Free Practice Results
Scuderia Ferrari remained in its typical Friday approach. Kimi Raikkonen lined up fourth in both practice sessions and the championship leader, Sebastian Vettel, was fifth in both practice sessions.
The main takeaways from both sessions were:
- While Lewis Hamilton had a problem-free Friday, Valtteri Bottas missed most of FP2 due to mechanical problems.
- Sauber‘s Marcus Ericsson had a big crash during FP1. His car burst into flames, and the Swedish driver could not take part in FP2.
- Haas F1 team returned to its former position as “best of the rest”.
- Mercedes’ engine upgrade gave Mercedes and its customers a boost in straight line speed.
- FP2 was red-flagged because of a loose wheel on Sergio Pérez‘s Force India.
- Brendon Hartley of Toro Rosso suffered an engine issue at the end of FP2
- Lap times in FP2 were slower than FP1 due to the increased track temperstures and wind effect.
Conclusions
Mercedes looks like the fastest team so far at the Paul Ricard Circuit. Ferrari had excellent pace during the long runs and showed it would compete on Saturday for qualifying and on Sunday during the race. Red Bull Racing drivers are also close on race pace. An intriguing Saturday is set to unfold at the French GP.
Results of FP2:
| Pos | Driver | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1:32.539 | 27 | ||
| 2 | 1:33.243 | +0.704s | 31 | |
| 3 | 1:33.271 | +0.732s | 24 | |
| 4 | 1:33.426 | +0.887s | 29 | |
| 5 | 1:33.689 | +1.150s | 35 | |
| 6 | 1:33.699 | +1.160s | 30 | |
| 7 | 1:34.156 | +1.617s | 7 | |
| 8 | 1:34.400 | +1.861s | 24 | |
| 9 | 1:34.457 | +1.918s | 33 | |
| 10 | 1:34.535 | +1.996s | 35 | |
| 11 | 1:35.067 | +2.528s | 30 | |
| 12 | 1:35.086 | +2.547s | 33 | |
| 13 | 1:35.172 | +2.633s | 28 | |
| 14 | 1:35.583 | +3.044s | 33 | |
| 15 | 1:35.697 | +3.158s | 31 | |
| 16 | 1:35.705 | +3.166s | 25 | |
| 17 | 1:35.936 | +3.397s | 34 | |
| 18 | 1:35.970 | +3.431s | 35 | |
| 19 | 1:36.080 | +3.541s | 13 |
Results of FP1:
| POS | DRIVER | TIME | GAP | LAPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1:32.231 | 25 | ||
| 2 | 1:32.371 | +0.140s | 29 | |
| 3 | 1:32.527 | +0.296s | 25 | |
| 4 | 1:33.003 | +0.772s | 23 | |
| 5 | 1:33.172 | +0.941s | 19 | |
| 6 | 1:33.318 | +1.087s | 22 | |
| 7 | 1:33.331 | +1.100s | 15 | |
| 8 | 1:33.685 | +1.454s | 23 | |
| 9 | 1:33.719 | +1.488s | 26 | |
| 10 | 1:34.108 | +1.877s | 23 | |
| 11 | 1:34.258 | +2.027s | 25 | |
| 12 | 1:34.484 | +2.253s | 14 | |
| 13 | 1:34.513 | +2.282s | 21 | |
| 14 | 1:34.592 | +2.361s | 21 | |
| 15 | 1:34.664 | +2.433s | 25 | |
| 16 | 1:34.862 | +2.631s | 20 | |
| 17 | 1:34.881 | +2.650s | 28 | |
| 18 | 1:34.993 | +2.762s | 24 | |
| 19 | 1:35.021 | +2.790s | 24 | |
| 20 | 1:35.105 | +2.874s | 25 |
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