Silverstone (United Kingdom) (AFP)
The Mercedes proved untouchable again on Friday in the first two free practice sessions of the 70th anniversary of F1's Grand Prix, setting times much faster than their closest rivals.
Valtteri Bottas in the morning, Lewis Hamilton in the afternoon, the "Black Arrows" drivers beat Max Verstappen (Red Bull) at the end of the 1st free practice session and Daniel Ricciardo (Renault) in the second .
But Verstappen was 727 / 1000th behind Bottas in the morning and Ricciardo 815 / 1000th behind Hamilton in the afternoon, demonstrating the chasm between German cars and their rivals.
These Friday practice sessions are mainly used to fine-tune the cars before qualifying on Saturday and the race on Sunday, they do not necessarily reflect the balance of power. But the Mercedes, who won the first four races of the season (3 in Hamilton, 1 in Bottas), do not seem to have a problem.
Except on the tire side; Both Hamilton and Bottas punctured to the left-front at the last British Grand Prix last week on the same circuit at Silverstone. If the Briton still managed to cross the finish line as the winner, his tire destroyed, the Finn, then behind him, finished only 11th, leaving his teammate to fly to the championship.
The German team is therefore keen to test the resistance of the tires during testing. Especially since those retained for a long time for the race by the manufacturer Pirelli, which equips the entire field, will be more tender than last Sunday.
It will still be hot for the Grand Prix on Sunday and Silverstone, with its series of long, fast corners, is known to torment the tires.
But on Friday the attention was not only on the track. The decision of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) to prove Renault right against its rival Racing Point livened up the paddock.
The French team accused Racing Point of having copied certain parts equipping its single-seater this year directly from the victorious Mercedes of the 2019 championship, in particular the brake scoops.
- Good day for Renault -
The FIA has ruled that this is the case although that does not make these scoops illegal, which play a vital role in brake cooling and aerodynamics.
Racing Point will therefore lose 15 points in the constructors' championship and will have to pay a fine of 400,000 euros. But Lance Stroll and Sergio Pérez keep their points acquired since the start of the season, however, in the drivers' standings.
At the same time, the team of Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll lost 5th place in the provisional championship standings to Renault.
The third place for the Australian Ricciardo, in the second free practice session, therefore crowned a good day for Renault. He finished 4th in the British GP last week and Renault seems to have finally found the speed he was lacking.
His French teammate Esteban Ocon, however, was not so well off with 10th place in the morning and afternoon.
Verstappen, 3rd in the morning, finished 4th in the afternoon, followed by Racing Point de Stroll and Nico Hülkenberg who again replaces Sergio Pérez, who tested positive for the coronavirus last week. "Hulk" has therefore lost none of its speed.
Thanked by Renault at the end of last season, the German driver, who has never managed to get on an F1 podium, finds himself this season without a steering wheel and this "freelance" comes at the right time as he seeks a tub for 2021.
On the Ferrari side, if Charles Leclerc remained in the leading pack both in the morning (5th) and in the afternoon (7th), his teammate Sebastian Vettel was once again unlucky. The German, who will leave the Scuderia next year, broke his engine in the 2nd session and could not do better than 14th.
On the other French side, Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri) obtained 12th place in the second free practice session and Romain Grosjean (Haas) 14th.
© 2020 AFP