Slow day for Merc
Hamilton and Bottas fail to shine in free practice
IT WAS not a good day for the Mercedes team at the Sepang International Circuit as the Petronas Malaysia Formula 1 Grand Prix practice rounds got under way.
Both the Mercedes cars were left trailing the likes of Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren.
Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton, the championship leader, and Valtteri Bottas were off the pace by one second and were in sixth and seventh positions after the second free practice session at the Sepang International Circuit yesterday.
Even Fernando Alonso, in the McLaren, managed to clamber up to fifth spot.
Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikonen finished in the top two positions after the second practice while Red Bull completed the top four positions with Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen coming in third and fourth.
Hamilton and Bottas took part in both sessions – the first in wet conditions and the second on a dry track.
Both drivers found the gravel trap in the early stages as they struggled with their cars’ set-ups, leaving Hamilton to describe the first day of practice as “very difficult”.
In the second practice session, Hamilton and Bottas suffered offtrack excursions.
“We have to review and try to understand where we have gone wrong with the balance. We’re hoping to find our bearings overnight and regroup for tomorrow (today),” said Hamilton.
Bottas fears that Mercedes could struggle to qualify on the front row of the grid, given the early pace shown by Ferrari and Red Bull.
“Those were obviously tricky practice sessions. We had quite limited running because of the rain in the morning. I was also a bit off in the second practice and that cost us some time, we lost a few laps because of that.
“It seems like Ferrari and Red Bull are very strong, so we still have some work to do if we want to be on the front row,” said Bottas.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said both sessions were a disaster for them.
“It was a very difficult session for us and we struggled from the get-go today ... in the wet, in the dry, on all tyres.
“The car is unbalanced and sliding all over the place. The tyres were overheating, especially during the simulation runs,” he said.
“Probably a gremlin in the car. But there’s a fundamental issue with the car that we need to find out.”