Charles Leclerc posted the fastest complete time in a crash-ridden Formula a Friday practice session at the Red Bull Ring.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc paced Friday practice for the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix, with the second practice claiming some high-profile vehicular casualties.
In a crazy pair of practice sessions, Leclerc may have come out on top, but the timesheets mean very little. Two red flags when drivers were attempting qualifying simulations and a further yellow in the final sector meant that very few drivers were able to complete their quickest runs.
And although Lewis Hamilton posted just the fourth quickest lap, when looking at individual fastest sectors, he showed favorable speeds.
First to cause a red flag was Max Verstappen. The winner at the Red Bull Ring 12 months ago, Verstappen was stymied at the final corner by a gust of wind, sending his Red Bull into a spin before the rear of the car hit the wall hard.
“I was already complaining on all my laps about the wind being really tricky, and in some places losing the rear,” said Verstappen. “Then I got into that corner, and certainly on the data you can see the rear turned around so — that definitely didn’t help.
“This year in general, the cars are more sensitive to the wind. Crashes can happen, unfortunately. Maybe it’s a good thing because they’ll take the whole car apart so a few new parts on it.”
The next red was brought out by Valtteri Bottas in the Mercedes. Second in the championship but more than a race win behind teammate Hamilton, Bottas was on a qualifying lap but ran off-track at turn 6, catching the slide and skidding across the gravel into the wall.
The impact took both front wheels off the car and, depending on any damage under the skin of the car, could result in a monocoque change.
The final incident involved Sebastian Vettel.
Ferrari has made a habit of starting its qualifying runs later than most, and this appeared to have paid off with the earlier interruptions. It looked to have paid of right up until Vettel came to turn 10 and almost replicated Verstappen’s accident, although the German managed to come to a stop just before the wall.
The tire barrier was ruined, but any other damage was minimal.
Carlos Sainz set the fifth fastest time of the day, but a number of engine penalties means the McLaren driver will start at the back on Sunday — so expect to see more focus being placed on race pace during Saturday morning practice.
Practice Two Results
Pos.
Driver
Constructor
Tire
Time
1
Charles Leclerc
Scuderia Ferrari
S
1:05.086
2
Valtteri Bottas
Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport
M
+0.331
3
Pierre Gasly
Aston Martin Red Bull Racing
S
+0.401
4
Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport
H
+0.443
5
Carlos Sainz Jr.
McLaren F1 Team
S
+0.459
6
Romain Grosjean
Rich Energy Haas F1 Team
S
+0.615
7
Kimi Raikkonen
Alfa Romeo Racing
S
+0.642
8
Sebastian Vettel
Scuderia Ferrari
H
+0.785
9
Max Verstappen
Aston Martin Red Bull Racing
M
+0.793
10
Lando Norris
McLaren F1 Team
S
+0.866
11
Kevin Magnussen
Rich Energy Haas F1 Team
S
+0.874
12
Sergio Perez
SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team
S
+0.878
13
Alexander Albon
Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda
S
+0.978
14
Antonio Giovinazzi
Alfa Romeo Racing
S
+1.033
15
Daniil Kvyat
Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda
S
+1.062
16
Nico Hulkenberg
Renault F1 Team
S
+1.163
17
Daniel Ricciardo
Renault F1 Team
S
+1.332
18
Lance Stroll
SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team
M
+1.743
19
George Russell
ROKiT Williams Racing
S
+2.131
20
Robert Kubica
ROKiT Williams Racing
M
+3.422
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