Vettel edges out Verstappen on fastest tyres, with Hamilton close third on slowest; Grid penalties for Red Bulls, Toro Rossos and Alonso
Tuesday 4 December 2018 17:43, UK
Sebastian Vettel outpaced Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton in Practice One at the Russian GP at the start of a weekend being viewed as critical for Ferrari's title hopes.
Described by Sky F1's Paul di Resta as a "make or break" few days for Vettel after a series of title setbacks, the German struck first on the timesheet with a best lap of 1:34.488 on the quickest hypersoft tyres to end up half a tenth clear of Red Bull's Verstappen.
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Hamilton, who leads Vettel by 40 points, was third but his 0.3s deficit was competitive given he set his best time on the hardest tyre compound available, the softs.
Red Bull showed strong pace throughout but their lofty position was somewhat deceptive owing to the fact both Verstappen and team-mate Daniel Ricciardo are taking grid penalties and start towards the back of Sunday's grid.
Ricciardo was fifth but completed only 11 laps after a small fire at the back of his Red Bull required attention in the team's garage. Red Bull boss Christian Horner said the decision to sideline the car for the second half of the session was precautionary.
McLaren's Fernando Alonso and the Honda-powered Toro Rosso cars are also taking grid drops for engine changes.
Last year's Sochi victor Valtteri Bottas was fourth in the second, but Kimi Raikkonen was behind Ricciardo and Force India's Esteban Ocon in seventh place.
Meanwhile, in a session in which four 'Friday' test drivers filled in for some of the grid's more familiar names, Antonio Giovinazzi and Lando Norris caught the eye.
Giovinazzi and Norris are stepping up to race seats at Sauber and McLaren respectively in 2019 and ended Practice One as the teams' lead cars, with Giovinazzi in 10th and Norris, despite an early spin, 13th.
Lance Stroll was the morning session's other spinner and finished at the foot of the timesheet after flat-spotting his Williams car's tyres.
