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Formula 1 Russian GP

Russian GP final practice and qualifying

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Advancing to Q2: 1 Hamilton; 2 Bottas; 3 Verstappen; 4 Ricciardo; 5 Raikkonen; 6 Vettel; 7 Leclerc; 8 Grosjean; 9 Magnussen; 10 Perez; 11 Ericsson; 12 Ocon; 13 Gasly; 14 Sainz; 15 Hulkenberg.
Information
Eliminated: 16 Hartley; 17 Alonso; 18 Sirotkin; 19 Vandoorne; 20 Stroll.
Sirotkin gets going again but has wrecked any hope he had of advancing to Q2.
Crash
Sirotkin has spun. Yellow flags are out.
Sainz posts a marginal improvement to leapfrog Hulkenberg for 14th.
Vandoorne doesn't improve, he qualifies 19th.
Hulkenberg doesn't improve.
Alonso's first sector is way off the pace. It's possible he was giving Vandoorne a tow - either way, the Spaniard won't advance to Q2.
Checkered flag
The chequered flag is out.
Everyone in the bottom half of the order is now out on track. Force India reckons it's safe enough.
On the bubble now are Hulkenberg and Sainz, but they're starting off flying laps right now - as are many of their rivals.
Radio Comms
"We are safe but we're getting ready to go again, so cool the tyres right down," Ricciardo is told.
Stopwatch
Hamilton posts a very good 1m32.410s as the session approaches its final minute.
Information
Current order: 1 Hamilton; 2 Bottas; 3 Ricciardo; 4 Verstappen; 5 Raikkonen; 6 Vettel; 7 Grosjean; 8 Magnussen; 9 Perez; 10 Ocon; 11 Leclerc; 12 Gasly; 13 Ericsson; 14 Hulkenberg; 15 Sainz; 16 Hartley; 17 Alonso; 18 Sirotkin; 19 Vandoorne; 20 Stroll.
Grosjean improves to seventh, replacing Magnussen as best of the rest.
Ricciardo and Verstappen move up to third and fourth with their first laps. Ferrari must be mighty relieved about their penalties.
Just the two Red Bulls, Hamilton, Grosjean and Hulkenberg out on track right now.
Hartley is currently shipping almost six tenths to Gasly, while Alonso is about half a second up on Vandoorne.
In immediate danger of dropping out, once the Red Bulls set a time, are Hartley in 14th and Alonso in 15th.
Information
Six minutes to go. Here's your drop zone: 16 Sirotkin; 17 Vandoorne; 18 Stroll; 19 Verstappen (no time); 20 Ricciardo (no time).
Both Red Bulls now head out on track with six minutes remaining.
Stopwatch
Hamilton goes even quicker, firing in a 1m32.825s.
Radio Comms
Ocon reports he had traffic on his lap.
Stopwatch
Bottas improves to a 1m32.964s with his second effort.
Radio Comms
"I can't do anything, the rear's too loose" says Grosjean, who is currently 10th.
The first laps are in from Renault and they are not fantastic. Hulkenberg is 12th, Sainz is 13th.
Leclerc improves to sixth behind Magnussen and Ocon, while Perez, Gasly, Ericsson and Grosjean currently make up the top 10.
Raikkonen improves to overhaul Vettel as the lead Ferrari, slotting in 0.171s behind Bottas.
Hamilton, despite edging his teammate by two tenths after two sectors, gave up over a second late in the lap and is only 10th at the moment.
Stopwatch
Bottas takes the top spot with a 1m33.170s.
Hamilton's on a flyer, and his first sector is a brutal 33.760 - which is much better than what anyone else has managed.
Everyone but the Red Bull pair out on track now.
Ocon is now up to fourth place, but still two tenths down on 'B-class' leader Magnussen. Perez slots in a few hundredths behind Ocon.
Ericsson and Hartley are seventh and eighth, over half a second behind their respective team-mates.
Gasly and Leclerc now slot in between third-placed Magnussen and Grosjean in sixth.

By: Geoff Creighton

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