Great Britain – Free Practice 2: Stroll on top, Vettel and Verstappen in trouble, Albon in the barrier

Second free practice session dominated by Stroll’s RacingPoint, which set the fastest time of 1:27.274. The session began under the sun, opened by Ricciardo on hard tires to get a feel for this evolving track with an initial time of 1:30.518.

Vettel returned to the track early to make up for lost time after having to change a part during the first session. It was his teammate who set the fastest time after a quarter of an hour with a 1:28.773. He triggered a light yellow flag after a spin upon accelerating out of turn 4. The Alfa Romeos powered by Ferrari are finding performance, being +0.1s off Leclerc’s time for Giovinazzi and +0.4s for Räikkönen.

With one hour remaining in the session, Bottas set the fastest time at 1:27.731 ahead of Albon, Hamilton, and Verstappen. The Red Bulls have consistently remained at the top of the standings after good performance this morning. Renault and McLaren have temporarily fallen back in this table, occupying the second half of the rankings.

Albon was the first to put on a set of ultrasoft tires to beat his teammate’s time in the first session with a 1:27.364, immediately beaten by Stroll with a 1:27.274.

Vettel got out of his car midway through the session after complaining that something was moving near the brake pedal. A second problem cost him more track time, which is becoming increasingly valuable for him. He returned to the track at the end of the session but only set the 18th fastest time, behind Russell. A very difficult day for the German driver.

The red flag was brought out following a major off-track excursion by Albon, who lost the rear of his car and then took a hit to the roll hoop. He collided with the barrier, destroying the rear of his single-seater in the process after setting a very good lap that placed him second, but his mistake on his second flying lap cost him the end of the session.

There were a little over 30 minutes left in the session when it resumed. Verstappen, in 14th place, also found himself on foot after complaining about his car. Adjustments that could not be resolved without dismantling the front of his car. The session saw significant gaps between teammates, as seen with Sainz (6th) and Norris (11th). The same was true for Gasly (8th) and Kvyat (15th), and Stroll (1st) and Hülkenberg (7th). The latter struggled to find a race pace during this session.

This practice session ended with a spin by Latifi at the same spot as Albon, triggering a yellow flag after the checkered flag.