24/09/2021
NEWS STORY
World champion, Lewis Hamilton says that Mercedes must "capitalise" on Max Verstappen's move to the back of the grid following engine change.
Aware that his title rival was already facing a three-place grid drop as a result of the clash in Italy, Hamilton's Sochi hopes were given a further boost by the news that Red Bull had opted to change the Dutchman's engine, thus consigning him to the back of the grid on Sunday.
"It's a tough year I think for everyone with reliability," the Briton told reporters at the end of FP2. "That's definitely a shame for him.
"We've just got to do our thing and focus," he continued. "We've got to try and capitalise on that, get a maximum result... a one-two would be spectacular for us as a team.
"It seems like we started off on the right foot," he said of the opening session, which saw him out-paced by teammate Valtteri Bottas. "We're always trying to progress.
"The first run in the first session was the best. We've been migrating and adjusting since. It's not been as good as that one as you start to push more and more.
"Generally a good session pace-wise," he added. "We've got some work to do, probably on the long run."
Asked about the possibility of the grid being decided by the order at the end of today's second session, he replied: "Tomorrow it's going to be raining a lot, we heard," It's going to be a big wet day tomorrow.
"It'll be interesting to see what we do in terms of set-up for that, knowing that potentially Sunday is dry."