Brazil: pre-qualifying 2019


Leclerc has a new power unit, so he’ll face a grid penalty.

First practice was mixed (wets, inters, and slicks), and saw Albon achieve the distinction of being fastest and having a crash. Bottas was half a second off the Thai, with Vettel a few tenths further back and a similar margin ahead of Leclerc. Sainz was best of the rest, ahead of Hulkenberg and Ricciardo, with Gasly, Kvyat, and Norris rounding out the top 10. [Hamilton only completed a couple of laps].

Vettel was fastest in second practice, two-hundredths ahead of Leclerc. Verstappen was a tenth further back, two-hundredths ahead of Bottas, who was less than a tenth ahead of Hamilton. Less than a quarter of a second covered them all. Magnussen was seven-tenths down the road, ahead of Ricciardo, Raikkonen, Albon and Sainz.

Unfortunately the way the timings work out make it unlikely I’ll be able to be online between final practice and qualifying, so no tip.

Also, the pre-race ramble will probably be up tomorrow morning.

Morris Dancer

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