Reading the results of the second free practice session for the British Grand Prix has never been so complex. Looking at the qualifying times, McLaren is certainly in a good position. However, Verstappen is further back due to a mistake made during the second run with the Soft tires. Perez’s good performance, occupying third position, favors him. If Checo was capable of such competitiveness, imagine Max.
However, taking a quick look at the long run times, the situation is not immediately clear. The Dutchman manages to get only one time below 1’32”, while the two McLarens frequently go below this mark. During FP2, McLaren appears to be the team with the best chance of success, yet… Analyzing the times in detail, one notices the Red Bull bluff.
Max Verstappen fools everyone, but watch out for Mercedes
Max Verstappen, although not the fastest, is definitely the most consistent, and indeed his average pace is very close, almost identical to that of Lando Norris. Should this make them the main contenders for victory? Yes and no. We have another surprise to note, and it’s called Mercedes.
The two drivers of the Stuttgart team both used Soft tires during their high-fuel simulations and on this compound, they were the third force, with a difference in average pace of less than two-tenths. Everyone who tried the C3 complained about wear problems, with lap times increasing after only a few laps. Mercedes was an exception in this regard, so we can’t exclude them from at least the fight for the podium.
Lando Norris had said at the beginning of the weekend: “It will be a three-way fight between us, Red Bull, and Mercedes.” It’s hard to say with absolute certainty, but the probability of this happening is quite high. The Stuttgart team could be the surprise of the weekend.
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Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez the slowest. Verdict postponed on Aston Martin
Ferrari performed poorly, being the fourth force, contending for the last remaining positions along with Sergio Perez, who did better in the qualifying simulations but then lost ground again with a high fuel load. While Charles Leclerc, even on Medium tires, managed to stay close to the pace set by Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, both Sainz and Checo struggled significantly more.
Friday was a day of comparative tests at Ferrari. If the technicians manage to get Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz into a better setup window (on Friday the car often suffered from oversteer in fast corners, especially Charles’s), then maybe we could also see a good battle for the last podium position.
We haven’t included Aston Martin because their times were really far off from the others (always above 1’33”). However, the Lawrence Stroll team has the excuse of having to evaluate the updates that debuted at Silverstone. Tomorrow, the first real verdicts will arrive for them as well. Today, for example, the qualifying simulations weren’t so bad for Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso.
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