Verstappen struggles with RB21 balance, McLaren too strong on race pace

Unfortunately, the race simulations also show a significant lag behind both McLaren and Ferrari.

On Friday afternoon, Max Verstappen did a long run of 13 laps, averaging a lap time of 1:23.628. Yuki Tsunoda ran ten laps in his long run, averaging a lap time of 1:23.901. So while Tsunoda was faster than his teammate in FP2, he came up short in the long runs.

The long run by Lando Norris was shorter than expected, considering the Brit ran off the track in his eighth lap. Even with that extra slow eighth lap, Norris averaged a lap time of 1:22:830. Significantly faster than Verstappen in the RB21.

Teammate Oscar Piastri's long run lasted eleven laps, averaging a lap time of 1:23.009. The Australian was therefore once again the slower driver of the McLarens.

The most notable result comes from the Aston Martin camp. Not only did Lance Stroll impress with his fourth fastest time in FP2, but he also seems to be holding up well with his long runs. His average lap time of 1:23.207 was even faster than Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari.

Leclerc recorded the third fastest time overall in the second practice, and his race pace also appears to be strong. He clocked an average time of 1:23.460 over nine laps.