Le Castellet, France. AFP.- Lewis Hamilton dominated the first two free practice sessions of the French Grand Prix on Friday, a new race in the calendar that was overshadowed on its first day by traffic jams around the Paul-Ricard circuit.
Hamilton (Mercedes) set the fastest time in the second free practice session of the French Grand Prix, the 8th round of the F1 World Championship, on Friday at the Paul-Ricard circuit (5.842 km).
His time of 1 minute 32 seconds and 539 milliseconds was however slower than the one achieved in the morning session (1 minute 32 seconds and 231 milliseconds). The high temperatures (48°C on the track) and the wind slowed down the cars.
The prospects are optimistic for Hamilton, as the Mercedes engines powering his car as well as the Force India and Williams have the latest upgrades.
"The new engine seems to have started well, but we will only know its true potential tomorrow (Saturday)," Hamilton commented.
"It's always a challenge when we arrive at a new circuit, but we are constantly learning new things and I love the challenge," he added.
The four-time world champion surpassed the Red Bulls of Australian Daniel Ricciardo and Dutchman Max Verstappen, followed by the Ferraris of Finnish Kimi Räikkönen and German Sebastian Vettel.
Behind the three 'big' teams, the Haas cars of Frenchman Romain Grosjean (6th) and Danish Kevin Magnussen (9th) seem to be best placed for qualifying on Saturday at 16:00 (10:00).
Incidents and empty stands
"It's not the most stimulating track of the season," confessed Vettel after discovering the French circuit, which hasn't hosted an F1 race since 1990 and experienced several incidents throughout the day.
Marcus Ericsson lost control of his Sauber at the Beausset corner three minutes before the end of the first session. His car hit the wall sideways and started to burn.
The track marshals didn't quickly use the fire extinguisher and the Swede took a long time to exit his vehicle, as he was not aware of the flames due to losing his rearview mirror.
In addition, the car of Mexican Sergio Pérez (Force India) had to be removed due to a tire loss.
Thousands of spectators trapped in traffic jams to enter the circuit missed these first incidents of the Grand Prix.
The first free practice session took place with almost empty stands, although the situation improved as the hours went by.