Blackfire Posted October 5, 2018 Posted October 5, 2018 Lewis Hamilton was in scintillating form as Mercedes dominated Friday practice at the Japanese Grand Prix. He was 0.833 seconds clear of title rival Sebastian Vettel's Ferrari, and 0.461secs faster than team-mate Valtteri Bottas at the Suzuka track. Hamilton was even faster on the 'soft' tyre, the middle compound this weekend, than Vettel was on the fastest 'super-soft'. The Briton also narrowly avoided a huge crash in first practice. Frenchman Pierre Gasly was driving his Toro Rosso slowly on the racing line at the chicane and Hamilton had to take avoiding action and run into the escape road as he closed in at a frightening speed. The two drivers were summoned to see the stewards to discuss the incident, where officials handed Gasly a reprimand. Hamilton was fastest in the first session, when he was 0.446secs ahead of Bottas and 0.682secs quicker than Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo in third. 'I'm having the best day' His pace was reflected in his mood, saying over the radio: "This track is awesome. I'm having the best day." Hamilton's pace continued the impression that Mercedes have made a dramatic step forward in performance following the end of the European season. At the Italian Grand Prix in early September, Ferrari locked out the front row of the grid, but that was the last of a series of races dating back to the German Grand Prix in late July when the Italian team appeared to have the fastest car. Mercedes took a surprise step forward in Singapore in September, a track that had traditionally been a bogey circuit for them, and Hamilton took pole and a dominant win. Mercedes then locked out the front row in Russia last weekend, where Bottas handed Hamilton the win to make it four victories in the past five races for the Briton.
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