FP2 concluded with the charge of Carlos Sainz, Followed by Hamilton e Norris – suffering, however, in the race pace. But let's see what responses the teams got! A Silverstone has returned to shine a nice sun and with him she also returned track activity! There first session it was in fact a fairly anonymous test given the track conditions. Too wet for slicks and too dry for intermediates. In these conditions, few teams managed to set a time and even complete more than a couple of laps. Quite a problem, considering that no one returns time. An hour is gone to the wind, and with many updates on the bench it is essential to collect data on data to find the set-up ideal, depending on what's new.
Alpine, Red Bull, Williams, Mercedes: many teams have gone further, bringing important developments. Williams has covered with Flow viz (paint) Albon's car to collect data on new bellies. Paint also used by Ferrari, hunting for data on Leclerc's rear wing – the one already used in Canada. But innovations only make sense if they bring results, and development is not always synonymous with progress. The only way to understand the efficiency and performance of the car is to grind kilometers.
Verstappen complains
One of the special observations of this weekend is the RB18 of the Dutchman who is currently firmly in the lead in the standings. Max Verstappen, 6 victories in this first phase of the season, has a pending issue with Silverstone, after last year's exit following a contact with Hamilton. The fight this season is not with the 7 times world champion, but with a rider of his own generation, chasing his first World Championship: Charles Leclerc. Le FP2 of the Monegasque, which he finished 5th, have been marked by a problem al dash, which was showing the wrong mode than the one it was in.
Red Bull e Ferrari you play most of the game with updates. Just the Austrian team at Silverstone has further innovated the RB18 with a significant package. Package tested for the first time during FP2. Max's first approach with the news, however, would not seem positive. During the first phase of the session the Dutch has complained over and over again with the team who did not, however, identify the cause of the "noise" that Max accused of hearing. At the end of FP2 Max still manages to get into the zone with the 4th time. A little further Perez, 7th, behind Alonso.
Best Ferrari on the track
Fast and well balanced. The first day of testing confirmed a competitive F1-75, always at the limit with Red Bull, which, however had more problems. Carlos Sainz had a session linear both in race simulation and qualifying, where he took the lead of the group, with the fastest lap of the session. The Spaniard said he is happy with the car. And one of the keys besides speed and performance is the feelings, which Sainz is slowly acquiring. The weekend is still long and it will be essential to find further confirmation on race pace and tire wear in tomorrow's FP3.
Mercedes jumps and “exalts”
Il pouring keeps coming back and disrupting the work of one particular team, i.e. the Mercedes. The W13 in the mix of fast corners of the Silverstone circuit starts to jump. However, the race pace simulations of the Brackley team in FP2 bode well for the two home riders. Russell, who finished 8th and Hamilton, 2nd, could put a spanner in Red Bull's works, should the big update of the Austrian team take longer than expected to reach efficiency.
Alpine ahead with Alonso, bad AlphaTauri
Again Fernando Alonso it comes like a bolt from the blue to sow panic in the center of the group. The Alpine arrived at Silverstone with some revolutionized bellies, closest to Ferrari philosophy. The Spanish driver sandwiched himself between Leclerc and Perez. Unlike his teammate, Or with, tied to the thirteenth position.
Bad two o'clock Alpha Tauri, both far from the points zone. Even better than they do Aston Martin. Among other things, the number 5 had to stop a few minutes from the end due to a problem with the floor. Sebastian Vettel didn't go long but the team still found a break so they decided to call the German driver back to the pits. Haas and Williams also bring up the rear of these free tests, even if Albon shows some signs of recovery with the new updates.
Both FP3 and qualifications could compete in the wet. The first responses of this day are mixed, a bit like the FP1 track. To find out more about the values in the field and see if Red Bull is actually in slight difficulty, we just have to wait for the last practice session.
In the meantime, here are all the times of the second session.
