Verstappen fastest in Sochi – Vettel disappointed

The Ferrari driver only ended up in fifth place in Sochi on Friday, more than a second separating him from Verstappen. The Dutchman turned the fastest lap of the day in 1:33,162 minutes, while Vettel's teammate Charles Leclerc (Monaco/1:33,497), who had been strong for weeks, ended up in second place. This was followed by the unexpectedly slow Mercedes duo of Valtteri Bottas (Finland/1:33,808) and Lewis Hamilton (Great Britain/1:33,960) ahead of Vettel (1:34,201).

Vettel had problems with traffic on the track during his qualifying simulation on Friday and had to make several attempts for his fastest lap. Such a big gap is still something to think about until the fight for pole position on Saturday (14.00 p.m. CEST).

Verstappen, who was so strong on Friday, has no chance of clinching pole on Saturday: The Honda engine on the 21-year-old's Red Bull was changed, and Verstappen is moved back five places on the starting grid.

Ferrari took three victories from the last three races, but Hamilton's renewed title win can hardly be prevented. The Englishman (296 points) is well ahead of Bottas (231), Leclerc, Verstappen (both 200) and Vettel (194) six races before the end of the season.

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Verstappen fastest in Sochi – Vettel disappointed

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen surprisingly dominated free practice for the Russian Grand Prix, while Sebastian Vettel disappointed five days after his first win of the season in Singapore.

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