#FP2: Verstappen tops second practice at Silverstone from Sainz and Albon as Leclerc hits trouble

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FP2: Verstappen tops second practice at Silverstone from Sainz and Albon as Leclerc hits trouble

Max Verstappen completed a Friday practice clean sweep by setting the pace during FP2 for the British Grand Prix, putting his Red Bull just in front of Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari and the rapid Williams of Alex Albon – while Charles Leclerc failed to make it out on track amid technical problems. After an incident-packed F2 qualifying, the start of the session was delayed by five minutes to accommodate barrier repairs and track sweeping, but the full 60 minutes of running were still available to the field – bar the sidelined Leclerc – as they racked up further valuable data for the remainder of the weekend. FP1: Verstappen leads Perez and Albon as British GP weekend begins It was 2022 pole-sitter and race winner Sainz who set the early pace on medium tyres, only for reigning double world champion Verstappen to reclaim top spot when drivers moved over to softs as the halfway mark of the session approached. Verstappen finished up with a best time of 1m 28.078s, more than half a second quicker than his FP1 benchmark, but Sainz sat just 0.022s adrift, with Albon and Williams continuing to impress via a run to third on the timesheets. Sergio Perez wound up fourth, a quarter of a second away from team mate Verstappen, while rookie Logan Sargeant underlined Williams’ strong start to the weekend by posting a lap time quick enough to round out the top five positions. With their factory just a few hundred metres from the circuit, Aston Martin ended their day in sixth and 10th respectively, Lance Stroll leading the team’s charge over Fernando Alonso – albeit with the Canadian losing a mirror and taking a stone to the finger, and the Spaniard losing one of his runs to an issue at the front-left of his car. PADDOCK INSIDER: Can Ferrari vie with Red Bull for Silverstone supremacy this weekend? Nico Hulkenberg went from 20th and last in FP1 to seventh fastest in FP2, with the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and McLaren of Oscar Piastri slotting between the Haas driver and the aforementioned Alonso to complete the top half of the field. Mercedes had another quiet session – despite this time running soft tyres – as George Russell took 12th, just behind Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu, and Lewis Hamilton placed 15th, having run wide and launched over the kerbs exiting Stowe. It was another sunny and warm session at Silverstone on Friday afternoon Esteban Ocon and Lando Norris were 13th and 14th in their respective Alpine and McLaren machines, as Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo), Kevin Magnussen (Haas) and the AlphaTauris of Yuki Tsunoda and Nyck de Vries brought up the rear ahead of Leclerc. Ferrari mechanics were huddled around Leclerc’s car in the early minutes of the session as they attempted to repair an electrical issue, but the crew were unable to complete a fix in time and instead turned their attention to Saturday’s running. READ MORE: ‘It’s massively exciting’ – Hamilton shares more details on Apple’s F1 movie ahead of Silverstone filming After the first two practice sessions, drivers and teams will now study the data and get ready for another busy schedule tomorrow, with third and final practice scheduled for 1130 local time, followed by qualifying at 1500. Visit the RACE HUB for more information on this weekend’s action at Silverstone. via Formula 1 News https://www.formula1.com

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Sainz says Ferrari have homework to do despite strong pace as Leclerc expands on issue that kept him out of FP2

While he was encouraged by the team’s single-lap pace during Friday practice for the British Grand Prix, Carlos Sainz has called on Ferrari to make gains with their long-run performance if they are to fight for overall honours this weekend. Significant tyre degradation has been a theme of Ferrari’s season so far and, while updates appeared to help the matter at recent races, Sainz still described it as their “main weakness” across FP1 and FP2 at Silverstone. FP2: Verstappen tops second practice at Silverstone from Sainz and Albon as Leclerc hits trouble Reflecting on the two sessions, which he ended in seventh and second respectively, Sainz said: “It was quite a tricky day out there with the wind, and trying to get used to the conditions and the car around this track is quite tricky. “We actually did a pretty good step forward from FP1 to FP2, trying different set-ups, trying different directions to go to try and improve the car in these conditions. It looked like it worked, but still our race pace doesn’t look great, and we will need to keep working on it. This feature is currently not available because you need to provide consent to functional cookies. Please update your cookie preferences FP2 Highlights: 2023 British Grand Prix “We are definitely trying to work around [tyre degradation] because we know it’s going to be our main weakness this weekend. We are pushing hard to see what we can do to manage them better. “Mercedes, for example, did a much better job than us, Red Bull a much better job. Although today we look like we are P2, we know that there is some homework to do overnight.” NEED TO KNOW: The most important facts, stats and trivia ahead of the 2023 British Grand Prix Asked about the potential for rain on Saturday – having claimed pole position in the wet here last year – Sainz added: “I’m ready for it. Whatever comes it comes. I love driving in the wet, like you know, and I’ve been quick in those conditions recently. Whatever comes comes and I will enjoy it. “I think Red Bull are still favourites, but we could be good. The race is going to be more tricky, but quali depends also on the conditions, if it’s wet, not wet. I think it’s going to be good fun and a typical British Saturday here.” Leclerc was unable to make it out on track in FP2 as mechanics worked to fix an electrical issue On the other side of the garage, team mate Charles Leclerc was sidelined by an electrical problem during second practice but stated afterwards that mechanics appear to have detected what went wrong. “There was a small problem on the car, but it’s like this,” said Leclerc, who was fifth in FP1. “I think the team has identified what went wrong, we’ve changed basically everything that was on the car, and it should be fine for tomorrow. READ MORE: ‘It’s massively exciting’ – Hamilton shares more details on Apple’s F1 movie ahead of Silverstone filming “It shouldn’t have any influence on our weekend apart from, obviously, the lack of kilometres and laps in FP2. That’s a bit unfortunate, because that’s where we normally prepare the race, and Sunday seems to be dry, so we’ll go a little bit into the unknown there, but tomorrow should be very different with rain around. “I’m looking forward [to wet weather] because the last few races I’ve been struggling in those conditions, but I’ve been working quite a bit on that, so I’m confident it will be better.” via Formula 1 News https://www.formula1.com

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Albon admits to some head scratching at Williams after unexpected practice display at Silverstone

Williams drivers Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant expressed their surprise – and urged caution – over the Grove team’s high-flying performance on the opening day of practice for the British Grand Prix. Albon featured inside the top-three positions during both of Friday’s sessions at Silverstone, finishing behind only Max Verstappen’s Red Bull and Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari on the combined timesheets, while Sargeant joined him at the sharp end with a run to fifth in second practice. FP2: Verstappen tops second practice at Silverstone from Sainz and Albon as Leclerc hits trouble It comes after a raft of updates were applied the FW45, which aided Albon’s push for P7 in Canada – lifting Williams above AlphaTauri and off the foot of the F1 standings – and led to another competitive display in Austria. Speaking after hopping out of the car, Albon said: “It was a bit surprising in some ways. I have to say unexpected, you know. We’re not playing around doing weird things, it’s just a normal day for us. “Clearly, we crossed the line and we’re in the top three, so a bit of – in some ways – head scratching, but at the same time the car feels good. We’ve got an upgrade on the car that we’ve had for two races now. This feature is currently not available because you need to provide consent to functional cookies. Please update your cookie preferences FP2 Highlights: 2023 British Grand Prix “At least on the simulator it’s shown to be a bit more effective in the high-speed than the low-speed, and we haven’t really had too much high-speed tracks the last few races – Austria and Canada aren’t really that. “It’s the first time we’ve seen the package working on a quick circuit and it’s looking quite good. But we’ve got to keep ourselves grounded, it’s [about] chipping away. NEED TO KNOW: The most important facts, stats and trivia ahead of the 2023 British Grand Prix “The wind, the way that it is this weekend, it’s so strong, I think everyone… It doesn’t feel good around here, I think it feels terrible for everyone, but clearly less terrible for us than others, so let’s see.” As for where Williams might stack up on Saturday, Albon pointed to the mixed weather report, saying: “Tomorrow is going to be likely wet for a little bit. I hope it stays dry, I hope it’s similar weather to this, but let’s see what happens tomorrow. “But still the focus is on Sunday, because overtaking here is pretty easy, so you need a good race car. Our race pace was actually OK; it wasn’t amazing, but it wasn’t bad.” Albon placed third in both practice sessions at Silverstone on Friday Sargeant echoed Albon’s remarks as he looks to build on an encouraging weekend at the Red Bull Ring last time out and edge towards what would be a maiden F1 points finish. “It didn’t feel super smooth out there, to be honest,” he admitted. “This wind has been causing us a lot of issues, but I think it’s been the same for everyone, so [we’re] just trying to get on top of that. READ MORE: ‘It’s massively exciting’ – Hamilton shares more details on Apple’s F1 movie ahead of Silverstone filming “[There’s] still some stuff we can do better, for sure, heading into tomorrow. The weather looks a little bit tricky, but we’ll play it by ear. I think generally it was a solid start to the weekend and we’ll try and build off that. “Honestly, mine and Alex’s comments are pretty much in line, so that’s good. We can move in the same direction tomorrow as a team and hopefully the good pace continues.” Admitting that reaching Q2 would mark a “really good day”, Sargeant added: “I don’t think we’re getting too far ahead of ourselves yet. We’ll see tomorrow, we’ll see when quali comes around.” via Formula 1 News https://www.formula1.com

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HIGHLIGHTS: Enjoy the best of the action from FP2 at Silverstone as Verstappen narrowly shades Sainz

Carlos Sainz took his first F1 pole and victory at last year’s British Grand Prix. And the Spaniard was looking speedy at Silverstone in Free Practice 2 on Friday, as he finished FP2 just 0.022s behind leader Max Verstappen. However, it was a bittersweet session for Ferrari, with Charles Leclerc failing to take part at all as he suffered an electrical issue that kept his Prancing Horse in its stable throughout FP2. FP2: Verstappen tops second practice at Silverstone from Sainz and Albon as Leclerc hits trouble While Verstappen – setting the pace for a second consecutive session, this time with a 1m 28.078s – and Sainz headed the field, arguably the star of the show was Williams’ Alex Albon, who took P3 ahead of the sister Red Bull of Sergio Perez, with his team mate Logan Sargeant backing up his performance with P5. It was a tough session for the three British drivers, meanwhile, with George Russell, Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton taking P12, P14 and P15 respectively – despite both Mercedes and McLaren testing new upgrades. Enjoy the FP2 action in the video above. via Formula 1 News https://www.formula1.com