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F1
Saturday, October 10, 2020, 1:09 pm
Author: Péter Vaszilykó, photo: DPPI
In the first actual free practice of the Eifel Grand Prix, Valtteri Bottas opened with one track and Ferrari surprisingly finished in the top five with both cars. The field is narrow on the cold track.
Yesterday’s humid and misty weather is a thing of the past, today the Nurburgring welcomed the field with sunshine. Although the air temperature of eight degrees is not favorable for preparation and the race, after two missed practices, the cars were able to drive to the track today. The first half hour consisted of feeling out, keeping an eye on the circumstances, while evening news also broke: Lance Stroll missed training due to discomfort, and his team ordered Nico Hülkenberg to replace him.
In the second half, George Russell’s mistake drew attention to a risk: the Briton slipped on the wet grass on one of his fast laps, where he skidded helplessly for long seconds, with minimal deceleration. He finally escaped without a collision.
Takuma Sato’s release in 2004 peaked 25 minutes before the end after Esteban Ocon ran 1: 27.634. That’s when the lap times started to rain: the French were soon overtaken by Lando Norris, Daniel Ricciardo, Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas. The clock finally stopped at 1: 26,225, and behind the Finn was teammate Lewis Hamilton. Ferrari waited until the end of training with the best laps, but then Charles Leclerc climbed to third place and Sebastian Vettel to fifth. Verstappen stepped between them. Renault and McLaren look equally strong in midfield, and a fierce battle is expected between the two teams.
While it would be a big task to establish a balance of power in sixty minutes, one thing is for sure: the warm-up of the tires will be a critical point in the time trial. On 15-17 degree asphalt, for example, Verstappen has already complained of grain around the start, so Mercedes’ DAS system can now do a great service to the defending champs.
The final result of the third free practice of the Eifel Grand Prix:
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