I’VE GOT MY EYE ON LEW

Leader Vettel braced for big Hamilton fightback SHANE WIN THE MOOD

SEBASTIAN VETTEL is gearing up for a Lewis Hamilton fightback today after leading Ferrari to a one-two in practice for tomorrow’s Russian Grand Prix.

Championship leader Vettel left Mercedes pair Hamilton and Valterri Bottas trailing on a track that is supposed to favour their Silver Arrows.

The four-times world champion was 0.263 seconds clear of team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, while Bottas was 0.670secs off the pace and Hamilton another 0.039secs back in fourth.

Struggling

But Vettel, who leads Hamilton by seven points in the standings, said: “On paper this looks like a Mercedes track and I am sure they did not show everything today.

“They did not get their lap together. The gap is artificial because the circuit suits them and they will be strong tomorrow.”

Hamilton seemed to be struggling with his car all day, aborting his first two attempts at a fast lap. After a series of mistakes he was slower than Bottas in both sessions.

“A difficult day for us,” said British triple champion Hamilton, “although we completed ® ® from JAMES MURRAY in Sochi everything we needed to do on our runs. But in terms of the balance of the car, the Ferrari seemed very, very fast on the long runs.

“So we need to work out how we can improve our pace.

“But there’s still everything to play for. The tyres feel very peaky, so it’s easy to drop out of the window of performance. But when they’re working they seem to be good.”

The Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo were fifth and sixth but 1.4 seconds off Vettel’s pace.

It was another horrible day for McLarenHonda, with Stoffel Vandoorne suffering an engine problem at the end of the first session which led to a change of power unit.

That resulted in the Belgian receiving a 15-place grid penalty because he has already used too many of the six main parts of the engine, including five turbochargers.

Hamilton is gutted for his former team which gave him his chance and his first world title back in 2008.

The British team have won a combined 20 drivers’ and constructors’ championships but have not won since Jenson Button’s triumph at the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix.

Hamilton said: “They have not won a race since I left.

“But I think they can do as soon as they figure out their engine situation and also their car. Then they can move forward.”