The second free practice for the British Grand Prix has concluded! Lando Norris, who has his own grandstand at the Silverstone circuit, treated the home fans to the fastest time of the day. Behind him were both Ferraris, once again showing their speed on the British tarmac. After a disappointing first practice session, Max Verstappen found his pace during FP2, although he still had to concede to McLaren and Ferrari.
The television broadcast of Formula 1 shows sunny conditions at Silverstone. Admittedly, with a temperature of 24 degrees Celsius and plenty of sunshine, it’s a pleasant day for the many spectators. However, a treacherous wind is also present during the second free practice. When the circuit is opened, the question is whether Lewis Hamilton can repeat his stunt from the first practice session. The home hero – who holds the record for the most victories at Silverstone – topped the time sheets in the first hour, just ahead of both McLaren drivers.
In the opening minutes, the British tarmac is immediately busy; almost all drivers venture onto the track straight away. With the exception of the Haas team, they all run on medium tyres. Lewis Hamilton sets the pace and records the fastest time. Max Verstappen – who didn’t get further than P10 in the first free practice – follows in his wake, but is quickly outdone by his competitors. Liam Lawson immediately experiences how busy the track is when he nearly collides with a Haas during a fast lap. “What the f***,” he sounds frustrated over the team radio.
With three quarters of an hour left on the clock, Verstappen begins a new litany of complaints to his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase. “Have you seen my front tyres on the straight? They’re not responding at all,” he snaps. Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz is surprised by a sudden gust of wind; his Williams spins unexpectedly in the seventh corner. He manages to steer the FW47 back onto the racing line and returns defeated to the pit lane.
Red Rubber
After half an hour of testing, the soft tires are fitted to the cars. Mercedes is the first top team to shoot to the top of the time sheets with the red rubber. George Russell leads the pack, but his teammate Kimi Antonelli quickly dips a tenth under his time. Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris add to this. The latter is also the first driver to dip under one minute and 26 seconds. With a time of 1:25.816, he is currently the fastest of the weekend.
Max Verstappen also tries it on the softest compound, but surprisingly does not get further than the eighth time. The Dutchman returns to the pit lane shortly thereafter. A second attempt on the red tire yields him the fifth time, still at a respectful distance from both McLaren and Ferrari. Both teams dominate the time sheets at Silverstone. Behind the top teams, Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson are doing well on behalf of Racing Bulls.
As the teams opt for long runs on the medium tires in the last ten minutes, the times are no longer sharpened. However, Ferrari shows a strong race pace compared to McLaren. Can the Scuderia cause surprises during the British GP? That remains to be seen. It promises to cool down considerably on the circuit this weekend, which could have implications for the power distribution. In addition, the expected rainfall could also play a role.
