Belgian GP: Verstappen fastest in FP2 as late rain hampers running again
The FP2 session saw rain interruption as well with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen leading in F1 Belgian GP from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and McLaren’s Lando Norris.
The weather remained cloudy for FP2 of F1 Belgian GP at Spa-Francorchamps, with spits of rain towards the end of the session. There was a lot of lock-ups and minor offs for several drivers throughout the session, whether in dry or greasy conditions.
But no major incident took place despite the wet conditions, with only a gravel run for Haas’ Mick Schumacher. The pace was eventually set by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen with a 1m45.507s lap from Ferrari’s Leclerc (1m46.369s) and McLaren’s Norris (1m46.589s).
Aston Martin continued its Friday show with another Top 5 finish where Lance Stroll (1m46.365s) was fourth from Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz (1m46.649s), with Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton (1m46.893s) slotting in sixth. His teammate George Russell (1m47.02s) was eighth.
He ended up behind Alpine’s Fernando Alonso (1m46.975s), who had a better FP2, with McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo (1m47.255s) ninth and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez (1m47.346s) in 10th. The Mexican did not have a fine run again, following on from the first session.
At the same time, Williams’ Alexander Albon enjoyed his run in 11th with Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Gunayu 12th from the AlphaTauri pair of Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly, who returned to the cockpit after giving up his car to Liam Lawson.
Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel was 15th from Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, who had a difficult run again along with Haas’ Kevin Magnussen in 17th. Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas managed to get some laps under his belt but was only 18th.
Williams’ Nicholas Latifi was 19th and Haas’ Schumacher 20th, as the FIA noted a practice start infringement with regards to Verstappen at the end of the session.
