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FP2 report: Valtteri Bottas tops uneventful session in Abu Dhabi!
Valtteri Bottas topped an uneventful second free practice session in Abu Dhabi, as he led a Mercedes one-two. The returning Lewis Hamilton was second, whilst Max Verstappen finished third for Red Bull. The drivers were required to complete at least ten laps on the 2021 Pirelli tyres.
Bottas leads the way
Bottas' time of 1:36.276 was enough to top the timesheets. Mercedes quickly made their mark on the session and Bottas led for most of the 90 minutes. Lewis Hamilton wasn't far behind his teammate, 0.203s behind the Finn. The Mercedes pair were the only drivers to go below 1:37.
As he been for most of the season, Max Verstappen was third. The Dutchman completed 25 laps and set a time of 1:37.046. He finished ahead of his teammate Alex Albon who was fourth, and the Thai driver will want to end the year on a high, to stake his claim for a seat next season.
Lando Norris was fifth for McLaren whilst Esteban Ocon continued his good form from his podium last weekend with sixth in FP2. Sergio Perez (P7), Charles Leclerc (P8) Daniel Ricciardo (P9) and Lance Stroll (P10) completed the top ten.
Red flag for Raikkonen
Within seconds of each other George Russell and Kimi Raikkonen suffered engine issues, the latter actually setting on fire which he eventually put out himself. This resulted in a red flag being waved and the session was halted.
Russell check
George Russell was back in the Williams this weekend after his brief spell at Mercedes. He finished the session in 18th, ahead of his teammate, Nicholas Latifi, and Haas driver, Pietro Fittipaldi. His session came to a premature end due to an engine issue.