Hulkenberg fastest in 1st practice at Russian Grand Prix

With the rain getting heavier and more persistent as the session wore on, only a foolhardy few would attempt timed laps, with Felipe Massa ultimately going quickest as one of only eight drivers to stop the clock, albeit nearly 16secs down on the earlier dry weather pace. However, Toro Rosso signed off the session by telling Max Verstappen to save his tyres as they will “probably” need them for Sunday.

Hulkenberg set a time of 1 minute, 44.355 seconds around the Sochi track, 0.052 seconds faster than Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg, with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel third.

After a diesel spillage prevented any meaningful running in first practice, rain ahead of FP2 meant drivers were unable to use slick tyres throughout the 90 minute session.

Red-faced organisers of the race in Russian Federation vowed to launch a probe into the truck spillage on Friday morning.

Track marshals and officials attempted to clean up the spillage by hosing down the affected areas with water, but it seemed to do little to aid the situation. “There was a diesel spill and it took us a few time to clean it – which caused the delay”. Fernando Alonso took a new power unit in FP1 which resulted in a 25-place grid penalty, but he reverted to an older specification in the second session and completed 12 laps before being told to return to the pits slowly due to a problem.

“From my point of view, there is not much to learn from today”, the Briton, who holds a 48-point lead over team-mate Nico Rosberg with five races remaining, said.

Hamilton’s time was of little significance ahead of a weekend that could see his Mercedes team wrap up their second successive constructors’ title, and he would have been higher but for a late spin.

The British-based team have severed ties with current engine supplier Renault for next season, while talks with Ferrari over a deal for 2016 appear to have stalled.