French Grand Prix – Free Practice 2: Verstappen finishes ahead of the Mercedes
As has been the case since the beginning of the season, the battle for the top of the standings is between Red Bull and Mercedes. It's Max Verstappen who finished the day ahead of Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes.
On a much warmer asphalt than this morning that the drivers took to the track for the second Free Practice session this afternoon.
The fastest in FP1, Valtteri Bottas once again showed his good form on the French circuit by quickly setting the best time of this second free practice session. His 1’32’880 is 6 tenths faster than his lap this morning.
The first incident of the session was caused by Nikita Mazepin who, like Yuki Tsunoda earlier today, lost the rear of his car at the exit of the final corner of the circuit.
After 30 minutes of the session, it is Max Verstappen who takes back the best lap from Valtteri Bottas. As we can imagine, the Red Bull is relatively comfortable in sector 1 with many fast corners, but in sector 2 characterized by two long straight lines, the Honda engine is not as strong as the Mercedes.
While the Ferraris and Aston Martins have not been very impressive since the start of the weekend, Alpine is a pleasant surprise. 5th and 7th in Free Practice 1, this afternoon Fernando Alonso set the 4th best time after 35 minutes of the session, just 2 tenths behind Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes. His teammate Esteban Ocon also impressed by placing 6th. Currently 7th in the constructor standings, the French Grand Prix could allow the French team to progress in the championship.
Free Practice 2 Results Table:
| N° | Driver | Team | Times | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | 1.32.872 | 21 | |
| 2 | Bottas | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport | 1.32.880 | +0.008 | 27 |
| 3 | Hamilton | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport | 1.33.125 | +0.253 | 23 |
| 4 | Alonso | Alpine F1 Team | 1.33.340 | +0.468 | 25 |
| 5 | Leclerc | Scuderia Ferrari | 1.33.550 | +0.678 | 23 |
| 6 | Ocon | Alpine F1 Team | 1.33.685 | +0.813 | 23 |
| 7 | Gasly | Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda | 1.33.696 | +0.824 | 25 |
| 8 | Sainz Jr. | Scuderia Ferrari | 1.33.698 | +0.826 | 24 |
| 9 | Räikkönen | Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN | 1.33.786 | +0.914 | 26 |
| 10 | Norris | McLaren F1 Team | 1.33.822 | +0.950 | 24 |
| 11 | Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN | 1.33.831 | +0.959 | 23 |
| 12 | Perez | Red Bull Racing | 1.33.921 | +1.049 | 24 |
| 13 | Tsunoda | Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda | 1.33.955 | +1.083 | 25 |
| 14 | Ricciardo | McLaren F1 Team | 1.34.079 | +1.207 | 24 |
| 15 | Vettel | Cognizant Aston Martin Racing | 1.34.447 | +1.575 | 25 |
| 16 | Stroll | Cognizant Aston Martin Racing | 1.34.632 | +1.760 | 24 |
| 17 | Latifi | Williams Racing | 1.35.266 | +2.394 | 25 |
| 18 | Latifi | Williams Racing | 1.35.331 | +2.459 | 25 |
| 19 | Schumacher | Haas F1 Team | 1.35.512 | +2.640 | 24 |
| 20 | Mazepin | Haas F1 Team | 1.35.551 | +2.679 | 23 |
