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Hamilton keeps the lead ahead of qualifying

GP EUROPA F1/2016 - BAKU (AZERBAIJAN) 17/06/2016 © FOTO STUDIO COLOMBO PER PIRELLI MEDIA (© COPYRIGHT FREE)

Lewis Hamilton kept the lead in FP1 with a 1:44.352 lap time, two tenths faster than Nico Rosberg, Nico Hülkenberg P3.


Some modifications were done by FIA overnight on the track, especially the the pit lane entrance which had been narrowed for a security matter. Five minutes into the session, a drainage grid got off in the pit lane entrance by Valtteri Bottas’ car, damaging the Williams everywhere. The first mistake of the session came from Sergio Perez who oversteered in T1, using the run off area.

Daniel Ricciardo was the fastest fifteen minutes into the session ahead of his teammate and both Force India drivers. Meanwhile, Mercedes cars stayed in their garage, waiting for the track to get grained. Nico Rosberg got a new engine as he broke his former one in FP2 and stole Ricciardo his fastest time. Lewis Hamilton seem to have more struggle with a lot of oversteer.

Kimi Raikkonen is someone else struggling with his engine, just like in FP2, only P20 halfway through the session, Sebastian Vettel after a timid first part of the session managed to get close to Rosberg with a P3, 0.259s from his fellow countryman.

The second half of the session was quite calm as about half of the grid stayed in the box. With twelve minutes to go, Rosberg started his qualifying simulation with super soft tyres with a 1:44.610 lap time while Hamilton was still in the pits. With six minutes left on the clock, Raikkonen managed to come back on track. In the last minute, Hamilton could go two tenths faster than Rosberg. Meanwhile, Perez lost the rear at turn 15 and did the same mistake Daniel Ricciardo did in FP1. The Force India mechanics will have to work hard to fix the car for qualifying.

Lewis Hamilton was the fastest in the last session before qualifying ahead of Rosberg, closer than yesterday and Nico Hulkenberg. Ricciardo, Vettel, Perez, Verstappen, Button, Kvyat and Raikkonen complete the top 10. Valtteri Bottas could not take part in the session.

 

Results:

Pos No Driver Car Time Gap Laps
1 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:44.352 17
2 6 Nico Rosberg MERCEDES 1:44.610 +0.258s 22
3 27 Nico Hulkenberg FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 1:45.540 +1.188s 18
4 3 Daniel Ricciardo RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 1:45.620 +1.268s 13
5 5 Sebastian Vettel FERRARI 1:45.630 +1.278s 20
6 11 Sergio Perez FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 1:45.735 +1.383s 17
7 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 1:45.901 +1.549s 14
8 22 Jenson Button MCLAREN HONDA 1:45.954 +1.602s 17
9 26 Daniil Kvyat TORO ROSSO FERRARI 1:45.981 +1.629s 19
10 7 Kimi Räikkönen FERRARI 1:46.024 +1.672s 16
11 14 Fernando Alonso MCLAREN HONDA 1:46.131 +1.779s 16
12 55 Carlos Sainz TORO ROSSO FERRARI 1:46.190 +1.838s 17
13 8 Romain Grosjean HAAS FERRARI 1:46.361 +2.009s 21
14 19 Felipe Massa WILLIAMS MERCEDES 1:46.510 +2.158s 20
15 21 Esteban Gutierrez HAAS FERRARI 1:46.670 +2.318s 21
16 20 Kevin Magnussen RENAULT 1:47.024 +2.672s 16
17 94 Pascal Wehrlein MRT MERCEDES 1:47.100 +2.748s 19
18 30 Jolyon Palmer RENAULT 1:47.158 +2.806s 18
19 9 Marcus Ericsson SAUBER FERRARI 1:47.328 +2.976s 14
20 12 Felipe Nasr SAUBER FERRARI 1:47.379 +3.027s 18
21 88 Rio Haryanto MRT MERCEDES 1:47.556 +3.204s 18
22 77 Valtteri Bottas WILLIAMS MERCEDES 1