The floodlights of Losail International Circuit made for spectacular viewing in the second practice session of the first ever Qatar Grand Prix, and it was Valtteri Bottas who set the benchmark time in Friday's running at the track.
FP2 was the first time the drivers had a chance to lap Losail under the floodlights, and it was a crucial practice session too, providing representative conditions for both Saturday's qualifying and Sunday's Grand Prix, which will be run at the same time of day.
READ MORE: Bottas quickest ahead of Gasly and Verstappen in second Qatar practice session
Bottas set the benchmark lap time after equipping his Mercedes W12 with soft tyres mid-way through the session, eventually finishing 0.209s ahead of AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly and another 0.15s ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen. As for Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton, he finished fourth in FP2.
As this is the first time F1 cars have run at the track, Bottas's time of 1m23.148s is now the track record at Losail International Circuit. Go onboard with him in the video above.
Next Up
Related Articles
.webp)
Bortoleto delighted with first F1 points in 'crazy' Austrian GP
Lawson feared race was over on Lap 1 as he takes sixth in Austria.webp)
Verstappen gives verdict on ‘unlucky’ collision in Austria
Piastri evaluates ‘intense’ battle with Norris in Austria.webp)
Tech WeeklyHow Ferrari's updates could unlock the car's potential.webp)
Gene Haas to drive one of his F1 cars at Goodwood