Mercedes made no mistake on Friday that the team is the big favorite in the Grand Prix of the seventieth anniversary of Formula 1. The German team also dominated the second practice at Silverstone, Max Verstappen scored the fourth time.
Lewis Hamilton drove the fastest time of the day with 1.25.606. His team-mate Valtteri Bottas set the second fastest time, at just 0.2 seconds behind.
Earlier on Friday, Mercedes also drove the best times in the first practice, although Bottas was slightly faster than Hamilton in that. Verstappen then drove the third time, in the second session the Red Bull driver had to tolerate Daniel Ricciardo from Renault in addition to Mercedes.
Results second training GP of 70th anniversary Formula 1
- 1. Hamilton (Mercedes) 1.25,606
- 2. Bottas (Mercedes) 1.25,782
- 3. Ricciardo (Renault) 1.26,421
- 4. Verstappen (Red Bull) 1.26,437
- 5. Stroll (Racing Point) 1.26,501
- 6. Hülkenberg (Racing Point) 1.26,746
- 7. Leclerc (Ferrari) 1.26,812
- 8. Norris (McLaren) 1.26,867
- 9. Sainz (McLaren) 1.26,918
- 10. Ocon (Renault) 1.26,928
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Verstappen almost second slower than Hamilton
Verstappen conceded 0.8 seconds on Hamilton’s time. The Limburger drove his fastest lap on medium tires, just like the Brit and Bottas. Verstappen’s teammate Alexander Albon got no further than the eleventh time.
On Thursday, Verstappen indicated that he also sees Mercedes as a big favorite this weekend. The German team won the first four races of the season and Hamilton is leading in the World Cup position.
Shortly behind Verstappen, Racing Point duo Lance Stroll and Nico Hülkenberg took fifth and sixth places. Earlier in the day, the racing stable was fined 400,000 euros and deducted fifteen points in the World Cup stand for manufacturers for illegally copying a part of Mercedes. Racing Point may continue to drive the same car for the rest of the season.
Just like the first training, the second session went on for a long time without any significant incidents. In the end, the virtual safety car still had to be used, because Sebastian Vettel had come to a stop on the track with his Ferrari.
Shortly afterwards Antonio Giovinazzi’s Alfa Romeo also gave up, after which training was ended with a red flag.
GP start times of the 70th anniversary of Formula 1
- Third training: Saturday noon
- Qualification: Saturday 3 pm
- Race: Sunday 3.10 pm
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