Spanish Grand Prix – Free Practice 2: Hamilton Takes Control
Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time in the second free practice session of the Spanish Grand Prix. He was ahead of his teammate Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen on the timesheet.
With 30°C in the air and 48°C on the ground, the drivers experienced conditions during this session similar to what is expected for the race this Sunday.
The first benchmark is set by Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) with a time of 1:17.970 on medium tires. Following him are Max Verstappen (Red Bull) four-tenths behind and Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) six-tenths behind, but on hard tires. The hard tires are not satisfying the drivers, who complain about a significant lack of grip and performance, whether on an attacking lap or during a long stint.
First driver to switch to red tires, Bottas takes the lead with a 1:17.170, quickly beaten again by Hamilton, the first driver to go below 1:17.000 in this session. New benchmark: 1:16.883.
A time that will not be beaten and will push all Mercedes competitors more than a second behind, except Verstappen in 3rd at 6 tenths and a very good Daniel Ricciardo (Renault) in 4th at 9 tenths.
The top 5 is completed by a surprising Romain Grosjean (Haas), who had a good practice session but suffered a motor issue in the last ten minutes.
The first Ferrari, driven by Charles Leclerc, finishes 6th, ahead of local favorite Carlos Sainz (McLaren) and returning Sergio Pérez (Racing Point). The top 10 is completed by the other two French drivers, Esteban Ocon (Renault) and Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri).
Also noteworthy, continued significant difficulties for Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari), 12th, and Alexander Albon (Red Bull), 13th, compared to their respective teammates.
Free Practice 2 Results of the 2020 Spanish Grand Prix:
N° | Driver | Team | Times | Gap | Laps |
1 | Hamilton | Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport | 1:16.883 | 37 | |
2 | Bottas | Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport | 1:17.170 | +0.287 | 38 |
3 | Verstappen | Aston Martin Red Bull Racing | 1:17.704 | +0.821 | 33 |
4 | Ricciardo | Renault F1 Team | 1:17.868 | +0.985 | 34 |
5 | Grosjean | Haas F1 Team | 1:18.133 | +1.250 | 29 |
6 | Leclerc | Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow | 1:18.147 | +1.264 | 35 |
7 | Sainz Jr. | McLaren F1 Team | 1:18.214 | +1.331 | 33 |
8 | Perez | SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team | 1:18.293 | +1.410 | 39 |
9 | Ocon | Renault F1 Team | 1:18.303 | +1.420 | 40 |
10 | Gasly | Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda | 1:18.312 | +1.429 | 40 |
11 | Stroll | SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team | 1:18.357 | +1.474 | 39 |
12 | Vettel | Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow | 1:18.404 | +1.521 | 39 |
13 | Albon | Aston Martin Red Bull Racing | 1:18.491 | +1.608 | 35 |
14 | Norris | McLaren F1 Team | 1:18.506 | +1.623 | 38 |
15 | Kvyat | Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda | 1:18.642 | +1.759 | 39 |
16 | Magnussen | Haas F1 Team | 1:18.761 | +1.878 | 36 |
17 | Räikkönen | Alfa Romeo Racing | 1:18.900 | +2.017 | 42 |
18 | Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo Racing | 1:18.964 | +2.081 | 40 |
19 | Latifi | Williams Racing | 1:19.155 | +2.272 | 32 |
20 | Russell | Williams Racing | 1:19.391 | +2.508 | 38 |
