FP2: Norris heads McLaren one-two at Silverstone
McLaren's Lando Norris continued where he left off earlier today, setting the benchmark in the second practice session ahead of his team-mate Oscar Piastri. F1Technical's senior writer Balazs Szabó reports on Free Practice 2.
McLaren looked very quick again in the high-speed corners of the Silverstone circuit which enabled Lando Norris to set the benchmark with a 1m26.549s.
The Briton was three tenths of a second quicker than his team-mate Oscar Piastri with both McLaren drivers using Pirelli's red-walled softs on their qualifying simulation lap.
Sergio Perez displayed a much more promising performance in the second practice, setting the third-quickest lap on Pirelli's C3 compounds. His team-mate Max Verstappen was quickest on the mediums after the first runs, but he ended up only seventh over six tenths adrift. However, it is worth noting that the championship leader completed his fastest lap much earlier than his rivals.
Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg delivered a shock result by ending the day in P4. The German was only four tenths of a second adrift of Norris' benchmark time. His team-mate Kevin Magnussen brought up the rear of the field after he sat out the opening practice.
Behind the German driver, the field was extremely closely matched once again. Charles Leclerc claimed P5, from Lewis Hamilton in P6, Verstappen in P7 Sainz in P8 and Stroll in P9, with the Mercedes of George Russell rounding out the top-10.
Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso looked a bit slower then Stroll again as he just missed out in P11, as did the Kick Sauber of Valtteri Bottas in P12.
Williams appear to be stronger than at Barcelona where the Grove-based outfit struggled in the high-speed coners. Home hero Alexander Albon took 13th while his team-mate Logan Sargeant ended the day in P17.
Alpine was very competitive at Barcelona and Spielberg, but they now look slightly less competitive. Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon set the 14th and 15th quickest lap time in the 60-minute practice.
RB was off the pace once again with Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo languishing down in P16 and P19 respectively.
Results
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Car | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Lando Norris | Mclaren Mercedes | 1:26.549 | 26 | |
| 2 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | Mclaren Mercedes | 1:26.880 | +0.331s | 24 |
| 3 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull Racing Honda Rbpt | 1:26.983 | +0.434s | 25 |
| 4 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas Ferrari | 1:26.990 | +0.441s | 26 |
| 5 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:27.150 | +0.601s | 27 |
| 6 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:27.202 | +0.653s | 26 |
| 7 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda Rbpt | 1:27.233 | +0.684s | 21 |
| 8 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 1:27.249 | +0.700s | 31 |
| 9 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 1:27.274 | +0.725s | 21 |
| 10 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:27.294 | +0.745s | 26 |
| 11 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 1:27.372 | +0.823s | 25 |
| 12 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 1:27.381 | +0.832s | 16 |
| 13 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams Mercedes | 1:27.645 | +1.096s | 26 |
| 14 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Renault | 1:27.732 | +1.183s | 24 |
| 15 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine Renault | 1:27.743 | +1.194s | 19 |
| 16 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Rb Honda Rbpt | 1:27.745 | +1.196s | 26 |
| 17 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | Williams Mercedes | 1:27.809 | +1.260s | 24 |
| 18 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 1:27.813 | +1.264s | 19 |
| 19 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Rb Honda Rbpt | 1:27.916 | +1.367s | 25 |
| 20 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari | 1:28.122 | +1.573s | 20 |
