Carlos Sainz goes fastest in FP2, with Mercedes also looking strong

Carlos Sainz claimed the top spot in FP2 today, but it wasn’t an overpowering performance compared to his rivals around him. The British duo of Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris claimed the second and third spots, with both being within 0.200 seconds of the Spaniard.

Ferrari on top, but Mercedes and Red Bull close behind

Sainz was the fastest driver in the session, but it wasn’t a comfortable hour for the Ferrari driver. He managed to find himself in the 1:28’s, finishing with a lap time of 1:28.942, but with Hamilton and Norris being close behind and Max Verstappen breathing down the young Brit’s neck, it will be interesting to see how he will fare in tomorrow’s final practice session and qualifying.

The current World Champion, Verstappen, was closer to Sainz than Charles Leclerc was to him, however, which will only boost his feelings ahead of tomorrow and the race on Sunday. The Monegasque driver was only able to best a fifth-place finish, whilst Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez could only move up to seventh place with his final flying lap. George Russell followed closely behind in eighth but was able to supposedly match the Ferrari’s pace when it came to the long runs, so that will be interesting to see on Sunday.

McLaren out the front of the midfield

Norris’ strong performance has already been mentioned, and his teammate Daniel Ricciardo will be happy with his ninth-place finish in FP2. The Australian has struggled so far this season with consistency, so a strong and pacy hour this evening, will only boost his confidence.

Alpine had an up and down session. Fernando Alonso managed to find the pace, finishing in sixth and only 0.300 seconds off Leclerc, on the other hand, Esteban Ocon struggled and had his session drawn to a finish early due to a cracked side pod. 

As for AlphaTauri, Valtteri Bottas was only able to finish 11th, whilst their rookie Guanyu Zhou was struggling with pace and claimed the 15th spot.

Quiet session for Haas, Williams, AlphaTauri and Aston Martin

There wasn’t much to cover regarding the aforementioned teams during the hour-long practice session at Silverstone. The AlphaTauri duo of Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly struggled compared to their midfield rivals, with Mick Schumacher and Kevin Magnussen joining them in the 16th to 19th spots.

Nicholas Latifi was rock bottom and struggled to find any pace, whilst Sebastian Vettel was stuck in the pits due to issues with his floor. However, Alex Albon and Lance Stroll managed to find some pace and claimed the 13th and 10th spots at the end of FP2.