Second free practice results are in! Here are the takeaways:
โข Hamilton Still On Top:
Hamilton has backed up a successful free practice 1 with a stellar performance in his second showing. It wouldnโt be unreasonable to suggest at this point that Free Practice 1 wasnโt a fluke (not that many would think it was), and Mercedes are in a strong position to dominate the weekend.
โข Verstappen Splits the Mercedes:
There is a shining light of the second practice for the neutral fan, and its in the form of Max Verstappen. Verstappen confirmed a time which was within 2-tenths of a second from Hamilton. If Red Bull can find another gear when qualifying is in session tomorrow to match Mercedes, we may be in for an excellent scrap for pole position.
โข Grid Penalty for Ricciardo:
Daniel Ricciardo received a 3-place grid penalty for failing to stay above the minimum time set by the FIA ECU under a red flag, meaning the best starting position he can hope for this weekend is from the second row. Ricciardo canโt seem to catch a break in Melbourne.
โข Williams Appear Off the Pace
Williams do not appear to have sorted out their slump from the middle-end of the 2017 season. With many off-season rumblings about who will partner Stroll, practice results suggest that their fortunes have not turned around on-track.
โข Fines/Warnings:
– Raikkonen to report to stewards for unnecessarily impeding another driver.
– Bottas to report ro stewards for unnecessarily impeding another driver.
– Ricciardo grid penalty for failing to stay above the minimum time set by the FIA ECU under a red flag.
