Australian GP, Practice Two: Lewis Hamilton fastest but rivals close in

An on-form Lewis Hamilton completed a fastest times double on F1 2018’s opening day, but Mercedes’ rivals narrowed the gap considerably in Practice Two to hint at an intriguing three-way battle at the Australian GP.

After the world champion led the field by half a second earlier in the day – with Max Verstappen the closest non-Mercedes driver 0.7 seconds behind – both Red Bull and Ferrari reined in the Silver Arrows in the second session.

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“It’s been a good day,” said Hamilton. “It closed up a little bit in P2 in terms of the gap between the cars, but that’s exciting anyway. It’s more challenging for me to try and eek out a little bit more from the car.”

Hamilton still topped the timesheets with a 1:23.931, the fastest time of the day, but Verstappen was just 0.127seconds behind for Red Bull on the same ultrasoft tyres while Kimi Raikkonen was two tenths adrift in the Ferrari.

Valtteri Bottas split the pair in third, but for the chasing competition it was an encouraging end to a day which Mercedes’ impressive W09 threatened to run away with.

“It looks like it could well be Mercedes-Red Bull-Ferrari,” noted Sky F1’s Martin Brundle. “But Ferrari tend to save a little bit for when it matters on Saturday.

“It does look like we have a race on our hands.”

Sebastian Vettel was half a second off his 2017 title rival Hamilton’s leading benchmark in fifth though it is Red Bull, in particular, who appear to be primed to attack. Daniel Ricciardo could only manage seventh place, but seemed destined to join his team-mate in challenging before a red flag ruined his flying lap.

“I think the long runs are probably more representative – I was happy with them,” said Ricciardo, while Verstappen added: “It’s a positive start to the weekend so of course I’m happy with how it went.”

Ricciardo will, however, receive a three-place grid penalty for Sunday’s race after falling foul of red-flag guidelines during the session. The Australian didn’t stay below the minimum time set after misreading his dashboard, according to the FIA.

Instead it was Romain Grosjean who gatecrashed the top six as Haas continued their fine early-season form.

The surprise package from winter testing and the best of the rest in Practice One, the Frenchman’s 1:24.648 was only 0.2s slower than Vettel’s best lap for the US team’s senior affiliate Ferrari.

Haas’ package will be a slight worry for McLaren in what looks to be an incredibly tight midfield battle with Fernando Alonso half a second off Grosjean, though the Woking outfit – described as “fragile but fast” by Brundle, did manage to get both cars into the top 10 and also out-paced engine suppliers Renault once again.

There was a disappointing end to the session for Williams, meanwhile, with Stroll having to stop his overheating FW41 on the way back to the pits. Rookie Sergey Sirotkin was 18th, only ahead of the two Saubers.

Watch the F1 2018 season-opening Australian GP exclusively live on Sky Sports F1 this weekend. Sky Sports F1 is the only place to watch every Formula 1 Grand Prix, qualifying and practice session live in 2018. Get Sky Sports F1.

(c) Sky News 2018: Australian GP, Practice Two: Lewis Hamilton fastest but rivals close in