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FRIDAY SUMMARY
* With the Sochi circuit not having been used for some time and no Formula 3
this weekend, it was extremely ‘green’ and slippery surface with a high
degree of track evolution and variable winds. As a result, the drivers
struggled for grip.
* The high track evolution meant that the times improved during the warm
conditions of the afternoon, with Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas going
fastest in both sessions, using the P Zero Red soft tyre on each occasion
(the C5 – which is the softest in the entire Pirelli F1 range). The
nomination for Russia this year is one step softer than the tyres chosen for
2019.
* Renault driver Daniel Ricciardo showed strong performance in both sessions
on the soft tyre, finishing second in FP1 and third in FP2.
* From the data gained so far, Mercedes (which has won the Russian Grand
Prix since it was inaugurated in 2014) appears to have a considerable pace
advantage, which could allow them to qualify on the Yellow medium tyre
tomorrow.
* Today’s data indicates a performance gap of around 0.7 seconds between
soft and medium, and 0.6 seconds between medium and hard.
MARIO ISOLA - HEAD OF CAR RACING
“We didn’t see any particular surprises from today. Given that the track
hasn’t been used for quite a while and Formula 2 is the only support event,
there was low grip, with a high degree of track evolution. We’d expect that
evolution to continue throughout tomorrow as more rubber is laid down on the
track. This year, we’re bringing softer tyres than before, which obviously
means that drivers have to manage their pace more carefully over the longer
runs. As expected there was high wear on the soft compound, with some
blistering seen on the front-left. Behind the Mercedes – which were
particularly impressive on the harder compounds – the pace seems to be
closely matched, and the performance gaps between the compounds suggests
that many different strategies are possible. These strategies of course
begin with qualifying tomorrow: it’s going to be interesting to see which
teams feel confident of getting through Q2 on the medium compound.” |
TOP 3 TIMES
FP1
Bottas 1m34.923s SOFT C5 NEW
Ricciardo 1m35.430s SOFT C5 NEW
Verstappen 1m35.577s SOFT C5 USED
FP2
Bottas 1m33.519s SOFT C5 USED
Hamilton 1m33.786s SOFT C5 NEW
Ricciardo 1m34.577s SOFT C5 NEW
BEST TIME BY COMPOUND
FP1
HARD C3 Verstappen 1m36.751s
MEDIUM C4 Kvyat 1m36.230s
SOFT C5 Bottas 1m34.923s
FP2
HARD C3 Perez 1m35.943s
MEDIUM C4 Hamilton 1m34.890s
SOFT C5 Bottas 1m33.519s
MOST LAPS BY COMPOUND SO FAR
COMPOUND DRIVER LAPS
HARD C3 Latifi 27
MEDIUM C4 Russell 21
SOFT C5 Gasly, Leclerc 19
TYRE STATISTICS OF THE DAY
HARD MEDIUM SOFT
Kms driven* 1931 1638 2742
Sets used overall** 20 22 37
The above number gives the total amount of kilometres
driven in FP1 and FP2 today, all drivers combined.
** Per compound, all drivers combined.
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