FP2: Bottas tops close second practice

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F1 Grand Prix, GP Great-Britain, Silverstone Circuitgb

While Valtteri Bottas got bettered at the very end of FP1 by Pierre Gasly, the Finn continued to stay at the forefront throughout the entire second practice session.

The Finn’s FP2 session was then compromised with a car issue that sprung 30 minutes before the end. He emerged with a few minutes remaining but completed 25 laps compared to Hamilton’s 35.

Bottas was backed up by Lewis Hamilton who was second fastest, though the latter didn't seem particularly happy with that "defeat", noting he'd be "digging deep overnight" to find possible improvements.

Such improvement may be much needed, as both Ferraris were also close behind in third and fourth. Behind them was Pierre Gasly who continued to perform strongly in the Red Bull, once again faster than teammate Max Verstappen who set the 7th fastest time.

Sandwiching Verstappen are both McLarens, with Lando Norris the faster of the orange cars. Alexander Albon put in a strong performance for Toro Rosso in 9th while Sergio Perez completed the top 10.

Long runs were cut short with just under 15 minutes of the session remaining as 14th-place Daniel Ricciardo’s Renault stopped at the Maggots-Becketts sequence, triggering a Virtual Safety Car. Competitive in FP1, Renault ended up towards the back of a crowded midfield in the afternoon session, Nico Hulkenberg 15th a place behind his team mate.

For Romain Grosjean, a troubled Friday of running continued. The Frenchman was sidelined for about half the session with a suspected hydraulic leak.

Results

Pos.No.DriverCarTimeGapLaps
177Valtteri BottasMercedes1:26.732-25
244Lewis HamiltonMercedes1:26.801+0.069s35
316Charles LeclercFerrari1:26.929+0.197s30
45Sebastian VettelFerrari1:27.180+0.448s30
510Pierre GaslyRed Bull Racing Honda1:27.249+0.517s31
64Lando NorrisMcLaren Renault1:27.546+0.814s38
733Max VerstappenRed Bull Racing Honda1:27.562+0.830s32
855Carlos SainzMcLaren Renault1:27.987+1.255s39
923Alexander AlbonScuderia Toro Rosso Honda1:27.997+1.265s38
1011Sergio PerezRacing Point Bwt Mercedes1:28.002+1.270s32
1126Daniil KvyatScuderia Toro Rosso Honda1:28.008+1.276s36
1220Kevin MagnussenHaas Ferrari1:28.059+1.327s30
137Kimi RäikkönenAlfa Romeo Racing Ferrari1:28.126+1.394s33
143Daniel RicciardoRenault1:28.128+1.396s17
1527Nico HulkenbergRenault1:28.217+1.485s34
1618Lance StrollRacing Point Bwt Mercedes1:28.240+1.508s37
1799Antonio GiovinazziAlfa Romeo Racing Ferrari1:28.294+1.562s28
188Romain GrosjeanHaas Ferrari1:28.794+2.062s26
1988Robert KubicaWilliams Mercedes1:29.935+3.203s37
2063George RussellWilliams Mercedes1:30.514+3.782s11