England – Free Practice 2: Bottas ahead of Hamilton, a Renault breaks down!

To everyone’s surprise, this morning Pierre Gasly placed his Red Bull at the top of the standings in the first free practice session of the British Grand Prix with his teammate Max Verstappen in 3rd position. Could the Austrian cars once again play spoiler after their victory in Austria?

Nothing is less certain as this first session was largely disrupted by numerous off-track excursions, interruptions, and even some showers in the last half-hour, preventing the drivers and their teams from calmly continuing their program.

This afternoon, the rain stopped and Kimi Räikkönen took the opportunity to hit the track quickly. The Finn was one of the unfortunate drivers in the morning as his engine failed him at the very start of the session, preventing him from setting a significant lap time.

On the occasion of his national Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton sports a very British design with a reproduction of the Union Jack on top of his helmet.

All systems are GO! 🚀

Time for #FP2, here at @SilverstoneUK 💪

Where will you be watching from #PETRONASmotorsports fans? 🌍@MercedesAMGF1 #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/i9GNh4ttab

— PETRONAS Motorsports (@PET_Motorsports) 12 juillet 2019

Robert Kubica makes a mistake behind the wheel of his Williams in the last corner of the circuit. A bit optimistic on the exit curbs, the Williams driver spins out. After half an hour of the session, the Pole is more than 0.6 seconds behind his British teammate, George Russell.

As this morning, many drivers make mistakes, like Sebastian Vettel who loses control of his Ferrari and goes off to sweep the freshly watered grass of Silverstone.

Vettel pushing on and over the limit in his Ferrari😬#BritishGP 🇬🇧 #F1 pic.twitter.com/5pP9ItVXNT

— Formula 1 (@F1) 12 juillet 2019

In the midst of this turmoil, Valtteri Bottas seems unflappable and continues to set fast laps. The Finn clocks the fastest time after half an hour of the session with a 1:26.781. He is ahead of Max Verstappen, Pierre Gasly, and Charles Leclerc. The latter informs his mechanics that he feels a handling issue with his car and returns to the pits for checks. The Ferraris are struggling this Friday and currently seem to be outpaced by the Red Bulls, particularly an in-form Pierre Gasly.

For the other Frenchman on the grid, Romain Grosjean, the woes continue with a hydraulic problem detected on his car. The Haas driver has yet to set a time halfway through the session. On the Renault side, the situation is hardly more enviable. Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hülkenberg are running beyond the Top 10, one and a half seconds off the best time. With 15 minutes left in the session, the Australian must abandon his car on the track after a technical issue, prompting the deployment of the Virtual Safety Car.

Ricciardo grinds to a halt temporarily bringing out the VSC ⚠️#BritishGP 🇬🇧 #F1 pic.twitter.com/HA4htfgeBI

— Formula 1 (@F1) 12 juillet 2019

In the middle of the pack, McLaren is still the 4th team to beat. Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz are competing with the times of the Red Bulls and are far ahead of the Toro Rossos or other Racing Points.

In the last half-hour of the session, the Ferrari drivers lifted their heads a bit and placed 3rd and 4th behind the two Mercedes. Charles Leclerc posted an excellent 1:27.629, less than two-tenths off Valtteri Bottas’s best time.

In race pace, the Mercedes are also dominant with a full tank, Medium tires, and lap times of 1:31.1, whereas, in comparison, Pierre Gasly drives 1:31.2 with the softest tires.

Free Practice 2 standings of the 2019 British GP: