Hamilton continues Mercedes dominance in F1 70th Anniversary GP FP2
Lewis Hamilton continued Mercedes supremacy at Silverstone by topping second practice for Formula 1’s 70th Anniversary Grand Prix.
As was the case in opening practice, Mercedes held a dominant 1-2 after claiming victory at the circuit during last weekend’s British Grand Prix, but this time the positions were reversed as Hamilton led the way.
The six-times world champion managed a 1m25.606s on Pirelli’s Medium compound tyre to lap 0.176 seconds faster than teammate Valtteri Bottas, who set his best time on Soft tyres with Mercedes splitting its strategy during the qualifying simulation runs.
Daniel Ricciardo recovered from disappointing FP1 to finish a surprise third for Renault as he pipped Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by just 0.016s in the afternoon.
Following on from its punishment on Friday morning for breaching F1’s sporting regulations relating to the design of listed parts, Racing Point continued its strong start to the season with Lance Stroll heading stand-in Nico Hulkenberg in fifth place, just eight-tenths off Hamilton’s benchmark time.
Charles Leclerc was once again the highest-placed Ferrari driver in seventh, ahead of the McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz in P8 and P9, while Renault’s Esteban Ocon completed the top-10.
Alex Albon was 11th-fastest in the second Red Bull, less than a tenth clear of the AlphaTauris of Daniil Kvyat and Pierre Gasly.
Following on from his struggles during last weekend’s British Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel could only manage a time good enough for 14th, before he stopped on track late on with what he described as a “big" engine failure.
The four-time world champion finished ahead of Romain Grosjean’s Haas and George Russell’s leading Williams in P16.
Kimi Raikkonen and Kevin Magnussen put their Alfa Romeo and Haas cars in-between the Williams drivers as Nicholas Latifi finished P19 in the FP2 order, only ahead of Antonio Giovinazzi.
The Italian returned to action after Robert Kubica drove his C38 in first practice and caused a late red flag when he parked up at Becketts after his car conked out.
FULL RESULTS FROM SECOND PRACTICE FOR F1’S 70TH ANNIVERSARY GP
