The seven-time Formula One World Champions Mercedes appear to be in a spot of bother after two very disappointing sessions…..according to the final standings at least.
Red Bull topped both sessions with their Dutch sensation Max Verstappen going quickest in the early morning session, with his new team-mate Sergio Perez topping the afternoon session. Ferrari was close behind in both sessions with Carlos Sainz getting the better of his team-mate Charles Leclerc in FP2 after the Monégasque driver beat him during FP1.
The big story coming out of the Friday running is the struggles of Mercedes but there is more to it than rather disappointing finishing positions. Hamilton’s long run in FP2 looked very strong and this was the obvious focus for him during this session while everyone else was doing their quick runs.
Sergio Perez is starting to come alive in his Red Bull car and is starting to push Max Verstappen in the sessions, while Pierre Gasly also looks to be in solid form this weekend after a 6th and 5th place finish over both FP1 and FP2.
Despite the team’s struggles so far this season, Fernando Alpine made the most of the pace from his Alpine car in FP2 after finishing the session 6th overall, after a 9th place finish during the morning session.
Daniel Riccardo finished the first practice session in 5th place, ahead of his team-mate Lando Norris in 8th. The pair then finished FP2 in 13th and 8th respectively.
Here are the final session times from Free Practice One:
Here are the final session times from Free Practice Two: