Lando Norris maintained his dominance of the time sheets at Silverstone on Friday by clocking the quickest time in second practice, ahead of Sergio Perez of Red Bull and teammate Oscar Piastri from McLaren.
As the threat of rain loomed large with a 60% chance, Free Practice 2 at Silverstone kicked off with a flurry of activity. Max Verstappen set an early benchmark for Red Bull, clocking a fastest lap of 1m 27.831s on medium tires, while Charles Leclerc grappled with high-speed struggles in the Ferrari.
Amidst windy conditions affecting track pace, Verstappen switched to soft tires and promptly seized the top spot. Aston Martin, aiming to rebound from a tough Austrian weekend, showed promise as Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll surged up the timesheets, building on Stroll’s earlier P2 finish.
As the session progressed into fast lap runs, Lando Norris emerged as the pace-setter, blazing ahead with a time of 1m 26.549s midway through. However, an off-track moment prompted concerns about his McLaren’s floor integrity, showcasing the challenges faced by teams in optimizing setups amidst impending rain.
In the closing minutes, rain arrived but failed to dislodge Norris from his P1 position, finishing 0.331s ahead of teammate Piastri. Sergio Perez secured third for Red Bull, narrowly edging out a strong showing from Nico Hulkenberg in fourth for Haas. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton settled for fifth and sixth respectively.
Further down the order, Max Verstappen claimed seventh, followed by Carlos Sainz and Lance Stroll in eighth and ninth. George Russell rounded out the top-10 for Mercedes, with Alonso just missing out in 11th place.
Alpine’s Alex Albon sported a special Union Jack livery for Williams and secured 13th, while Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon wrapped up 14th and 15th. Yuki Tsunoda recovered from his FP1 spin to take 16th for Red Bull.
Looking ahead, teams will analyze their data before returning for the crucial third practice session on Saturday, followed by qualifying, as the action heats up at Silverstone.
