0.007s splits the top two and 0.108s splits the top four as Mercedes and Ferrari battle it out in Shanghai; Red Bull further off the pace; Another botched pit stop, this time at McLaren
Thursday 13 December 2018 11:35, UK
Lewis Hamilton out-paced Kimi Raikkonen by just seven-thousandths of a second in a fascinating Practice Two session which hinted at an incredibly tight Chinese GP battle between Mercedes and Ferrari.
Hamilton, fastest in Practice One, continued Mercedes' perfect start to the weekend with his 1:33.482 lap on ultrasoft tyres but while the reigning world champion enjoyed clear superiority over his rivals in Friday's first session, Ferrari bounced back in P2 and the top four drivers were only split by 0.108s.
"Ferrari are still quite quick and Red Bull were really quick on the long run. It's good to see all the times so close," Hamilton said.
Hamilton excited for close battle
Ferrari explain botched pit-stop
Raikkonen was the closest challenger but Hamilton's Silver Arrows team-mate Valtteri Bottas was just 0.033s adrift, with Sebastian Vettel, winner of F1 2018's first two races, fourth but within touching distance in the sister Ferrari.
After intriguing and hard-fought weekends in Australia and Bahrain, the session suggested there would be more of the same in Shanghai, with Mercedes and Ferrari neck-and-neck on both the ultrasoft and soft compounds.
"I think the car has the pace but we need to make sure we get it to work," said Vettel. "Hopefully tomorrow I am very happy."
Red Bull currently look short of the leaders' one-lap pace, however, with Max Verstappen leading the team in fifth but 0.341s off Hamilton's benchmark. Daniel Ricciardo was down in ninth, failing to hook up a lap.
But there is still the prospect of a three-way fight when it comes to the race, with Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull all extremely closely matched on the long runs.
Nico Hulkenberg enjoyed another impressive session in seventh, once again getting the better of Renault team-mate Carlos Sainz, while Kevin Magnussen continued his fine start to 2018 in seventh for Haas.
Fernando Alonso rounded off the top 10 for McLaren - but the team's day was blighted by yet another pit-stop malfunction. Stoffel Vandoorne had to pull his MCL33 to the side of the track on an out-lap after reporting "the tyre is not on".
It is the fifth time this season a car has been released from the pits without all four wheels tightly attached, and the FIA have been investigating Ferrari's procedures after a team mechanic suffered a broken leg in Bahrain.
Earlier, Ferrari confirmed they were helping the FIA with their process and revealed there were "three factors" behind the botched pit-stop last weekend.
Pierre Gasly was down in 12th after his Toro Rosso heroics in the desert, Romain Grosjean a disappointing 19th for Haas, while it was another disastrous day for Williams.
Lance Stroll spun off at Turn Eight after losing the rear of a FW41 that is severely lacking balance, and he finished rock bottom of the timesheets with Sergey Sirotkin 16th.
Light rain at the end of the session forced many drivers onto intermediates, perhaps getting ready for possible showers during a crucial qualifying hour on Saturday, live on Sky Sports F1 at 7am.
