Merc’s Bottas completes ‘double top’ as fastest man in Tuscan practice

Valtteri Bottas completed a controlled ‘double top’ as he outpaced Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton in Friday afternoon’s crash-hit second practice for this weekend’s first Tuscan Grand Prix.

Bottas clocked a best time of one minute and 16.989 seconds around the spectacular 5.245-kms Ferrari-owned Mugello circuit, two-tenths quicker than championship leader Lewis Hamilton with Max Verstappen a familiar third for Red Bull.

It is the fifth Friday at successive events that the Finn has been fastest in at least one session. But he went better this time by topping both sessions, boosting his bid to close the 47-point lead that Hamilton has built up in the title race.

The afternoon session was stopped twice for red flags after Lando Norris crashed his McLaren after spinning and, later, Sergio Perez of Racing Point collided with Kimi Raikkonen’s Alfa Romeo.

Alex Albon was fourth in the second Red Bull ahead of the two Renaults of Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon, Perez and last Sunday’s Monza winner Pierre Gasly of Alpha Tauri.

Raikkonen was ninth for Alfa Romeo and Charles Leclerc tenth in his Ferrari, as the Italian team showed a solid improvement after two pointless weekends before this weekend’s celebration of their 1000th Grand Prix.

His Ferrari team-mate Sebastian Vettel, who is leaving the team at the end of the season, ended the session stranded out on the track after the engine of his gleaming burgundy-red car cut out.

The session ran in balmy conditions with an air temperature of 29 degrees and the track at 45, perfect weather for the few paying spectators, from the official Ferrari Fan Club, allowed inside for the first time in this coronavirus-hit season.

After a flurry of action led by Norris, the burgundy-liveried Ferraris joined the fray and Leclerc spun on his hard tyres on his out-lap, returning immediately to the pits as Verstappen went fastest for Red Bull.

Bottas then picked up where he had left off in the morning by going top in 1:18.019, a time he soon trimmed before Norris crashed at the exit of Turn Three after running wide and into the gravel.

The impact as he slid into the barriers tore the front wing off his McLaren car before he slid to a halt. He was unhurt and walked away, but the session was red-flagged for eight minutes to allow for the wreckage to be cleared.

On resumption, Bottas was quick again on soft tyres as he cut his lap to 1:16.989, enough to keep him two-tenths ahead of team-mate Hamilton.

Next, it was Vettel who found limits of his Ferrari and the track when he ran off at Turn 13, prompting a brief yellow-flags period after a full spin before Perez clipped Raikkonen’s Alfa Romeo at Turn One, sending the Finn into a gravel trap.

The session had to be stopped again to clear the debris, this time for 11 minutes, leaving little more than five minutes of action before the chequered flag.

Verstappen complained about his tyres as he wound up third behind the two Mercedes men while Vettel ground to a halt on the track when his engine stopped.

Meanwhile, Vettel said he has no regrets over his six years at Ferrari despite failing to achieve his objective and end the team’s long wait for a first drivers’ title since 2007.

And the four-time world champion made clear he felt revitalised by the prospect of joining Aston Martin next year - but looked back with pleasure on his years at Maranello.

“I don’t regret the years that I’ve spent with Ferrari,” said Vettel at Mugello ahead of this weekend’s Tuscan Grand Prix, which Ferrari are hosting to celebrate their 1000th Formula One race entry,

Agence France-Presse