FP2: Mercedes increase advantage to competition

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The second free practice session at Melbourne saw the Mercedes cars edge ahead of the field. After a very tightly matched FP1, both Mercedes had a comfortable 8 tenths ahead of Max Verstappen.

The Dutch Red Bull driver was the fastest non-Mercedes, with team mate Pierre Gasly closely behind.

Ferrari dropped down the pecking order, with Vettel claiming the team is not yet at its best, and is still looking to find the ideal setup for their car. The German was 5th fastest while team mate Leclerc, 3 tenths behind Vettel, ended up 9th.

Kimi Raikkonen again held 6th place, ahead of Renault's duo. Ricciardo now closely matched his team mate after having struggled with a seat issue in the first practice that saw him off the pace.

Romain Grosjean was 10th fastest, replacing Magnussen as the Haas representative in the top 10.

Results

Pos.No.DriverCarTimeGapLaps
144Lewis HamiltonMercedes1:22.600-33
277Valtteri BottasMercedes1:22.648+0.048s33
333Max VerstappenRed Bull Racing Honda1:23.400+0.800s33
410Pierre GaslyRed Bull Racing Honda1:23.442+0.842s31
55Sebastian VettelFerrari1:23.473+0.873s35
67Kimi RäikkönenAlfa Romeo Racing Ferrari1:23.572+0.972s40
727Nico HulkenbergRenault1:23.574+0.974s37
83Daniel RicciardoRenault1:23.644+1.044s31
916Charles LeclercFerrari1:23.754+1.154s35
108Romain GrosjeanHaas Ferrari1:23.814+1.214s37
1126Daniil KvyatScuderia Toro Rosso Honda1:23.933+1.333s36
1220Kevin MagnussenHaas Ferrari1:23.988+1.388s27
1318Lance StrollRacing Point Bwt Mercedes1:24.011+1.411s38
1455Carlos SainzMcLaren Renault1:24.133+1.533s26
1599Antonio GiovinazziAlfa Romeo Racing Ferrari1:24.293+1.693s37
1611Sergio PerezRacing Point Bwt Mercedes1:24.401+1.801s34
1723Alexander AlbonScuderia Toro Rosso Honda1:24.675+2.075s40
184Lando NorrisMcLaren Renault1:24.733+2.133s26
1963George RussellWilliams Mercedes1:26.453+3.853s32
2088Robert KubicaWilliams Mercedes1:26.655+4.055s33