British GP: Verstappen top in FP2 as Albon goes third fastest again

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen rounded out the first day as the fastest man while Williams’ Alexander Albon put in a worthy performance to go third fastest. 

How the second practice unfolded… 

It was a delayed start to Free Practice Two after race control conducted proper inspections of a tyre barrier at Copse Corner. Prior to F1’s session, qualifying was underway for Formula 2’s supporting race where damage was caused by Amaury Cordeel’s heavy shunt into the barrier.

After the inspection, and any tweaks needed, the session was finally green-lit. 

In the first laps recorded, it wasn’t long before Red Bull’s main man went to the top of the timing boards, a place he would remain for the majority of the session. 

With the only working Ferrari in FP2, Sainz was on the gearbox of the #1 Red Bull with a lap time that was two hundredths slower than Verstappen. The Spaniard briefly went to the top of the timing boards but was soon demoted by Red Bull’s Dutchman. 

Albon rounded out the top three for a second time this weekend. The Williams, and its upgrades, seem to be working well. It’s commonly known that the 2023 Williams car is slippy down a straight line which may prove beneficial, on the weekend of their 800th Grand Prix anniversary. 

Verstappen’s teammate, Sergio Perez, managed to pip the Dutchman in the early stages but it wasn’t long before the defending world champion put him in his place. By the time the chequered flag fell, Perez finished in fourth, two-tenths off the pace. 

Williams’ rookie driver, Logan Sargeant, followed suit with his more experienced teammate and placed his car inside the top five, in fifth, six-tenths behind Verstappen’s best time. 

Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and, Stroll’s teammate, Fernando Alonso rounded out the top 10 in sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th respectively.

Of the bottom 10, Alfa Romeo Guanyu Zhou led the second half in 11th place ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell and McLaren’s Lando Norris in 12th and 13th respectively. Esteban Ocon and Lewis Hamilton cleaned up the top 15 spaces in 14th and 15th, in their respective Alpine and Mercedes machinery. 

Alfa’s Valtteri Bottas, Haas’ Kevin Magnussen and the Alpha Tauri duo of Yuki Tsunoda and Nyck de Vries completed the rest of the running field, ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc who failed to get out. 

Despite the delay for free practice, Leclerc’s car was plagued with electrical issues. The Ferrari mechanics formed a human wall in the early stages to prevent prying eyes from peeking in, while those working on the car pulled it to pieces. 

Unfortunately, their hard work came to nothing and Leclerc lost a full hour of running and ended the session down in 20th. 

Free practice three will begin at 11:30am (BST) tomorrow ahead of the all-important qualifying session later on tomorrow at 3pm.  

That’s all for the live blog; British GP: Verstappen top in FP2 as Albon goes third fastest again!

Read more Formula 1 here:

• LIVE: BRITISH GP – FP2
• British GP: Verstappen leads Perez and Albon in first practice
• LIVE: BRITISH GRAND PRIX – FP1
• F1 Apple Film ‘APXGP’ car finally revealed ahead of British Grand Prix
• F1 reveal 2024 calendar with big steps in regionalisation
• Aston Martin Austrian GP upheld and 1,200+ track limit violations to review
• Verstappen dominates Austrian GP after he fought Ferrari to seal victory

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Kamron Kent

Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.

I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

Kamron Kent

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.