Saudi Arabia GP - Lewis Hamilton leads Valtteri Bottas at FP2 with Mercedes taking first two spots
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Published 03/12/2021 at 18:46 GMT
Formula One championship leader Max Verstappen could only take his Red Bull to fourth place in the second practice session in Saudi Arabia on Friday evening. Top spot went to current champion Lewis Hamilton, with second going to his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas. Qualifying begins on Saturday afternoon.
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) - GP of Saudi Arabia 2021
Image credit: Getty Images
FP2 at the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix saw Lewis Hamilton top the leaderboard, ahead of his Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas.
Third place went to AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly, and before any more late challenges could be made, a Charles Leclerc crash caused the rest of the session to be red flagged.
Hamilton, who was the fastest in FP1 as well, was fortunate to dodge a Haas at turn 10, and his soft tires were at the heart of his impressive time.
Championship leader Max Verstappen, challenging current title holder Hamilton, finished fourth fastest, claimed to be struggling with his softs.
Elsewhere, Alpine’s Fernando Alonso took fifth and Esteban Ocon claimed sixth. Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz finished in eighth, with Gasly’s teammate Yuki Tsunoda in eight. Ninth went to Sergio Perez, and Leclerc was 10th.
Alpine continued to show competitive pace as this weekend they aim to consolidate fifth in the constructors' championship. Fernando Alonso finished fifth and Esteban Ocon sixth, while Ferrari's Carlos Sainz finished just behind in P7 – all three setting their benchmarks on softs.
FP3 takes place on Saturday, ahead of qualifying later tomorrow.
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