The heatwave affecting Europe is not sparing the Austrian Alps as the thermometer showed 30\u00b0C in the air and especially 50\u00b0C in the air at the start of the second free practice session. This session is particularly important for the teams since it takes place at the same time as the qualifications and the race. With abnormally high temperatures, tire degradation is one of the key points of the teams’ program.<\/p>\n
Ferrari clearly played the endurance card as Sebastian Vettel made his first stints on hard tires while Charles Leclerc continued with the mediums, already used during the morning session. The Monegasque thus set the first significant benchmark with a time of 1:05:558, which allowed him to surpass the time set by Lewis Hamilton on hard tires.<\/p>\n
On a track with wide run-offs but raised curbs, drivers are tempted to go beyond the allowed limit. This results in drivers repeatedly running into the run-off areas. However, this is not always without consequence, as demonstrated by Lance Stroll, who damaged his front wing by going wide in the last corner, much like Nico H\u00fclkenberg did during the first session.<\/p>\n
At the half-hour mark, the standings were somewhat unusual as Carlos Sainz (3rd) and Romain Grosjean (5th) disrupted the usual order with laps on soft tires. Shortly after, Max Verstappen spun at the final corner. This sent him into the tire wall and destroyed the rear end of his car. The session was naturally neutralized by a red flag for eight minutes, allowing time to clear the damaged Red Bull.<\/p>\n
However, the session was quickly interrupted again by Valtteri Bottas’s big off-track excursion. The Finn came in too fast into turn 6. Although he tried to recover his Mercedes, he was nonetheless sent headfirst into the tire barrier, resulting in the destruction of his car. The impact measured 25G and the driver was taken to the medical center as a precaution.<\/p>\n
\n\ud83d\udea8 Valtteri is OK after going into the barriers at Turn 6. He will be taken to the medical centre as a precaution. <\/p>\n
It looks like he corrected a snap and then the car gripped up. We will check the data to find out exactly what happened. #AustrianGP<\/a> #FP2<\/a> <\/p>\n
\ud83d\udcf8:@F1<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/Gh2qDxjYTq<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) June 28, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
After another interruption of nearly ten minutes, most of the drivers rushed to the track to continue their session program. But we came very close to another interruption with a huge slide from Sebastian Vettel in the final corner. Fortunately for the German, he managed to stop his car a few meters from the tire wall and was able to resume the track at reduced speed.<\/p>\n
\nTurn 10 \ud83c\udf2c\ud83c\udf2c\ud83c\udf2c Seb#AustrianGP<\/a> \ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddf9 #F1<\/a> (sound on) pic.twitter.com\/ZqaUDx9ID0<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Formula 1 (@F1) 28 juin 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
In this context, Charles Leclerc set the fastest time by using the soft tires for the first time this weekend, while it was Pierre Gasly’s turn to stir things up by taking the third position. Carlos Sainz also confirmed McLaren’s good form by setting the 5th fastest time of the session, although he made a mistake in turn 6 without the same consequences as Valtteri Bottas.<\/p>\n
If Charles Leclerc finished the session with the best time, his teammate had to settle for 8th place. The ranking is somewhat unusual with Charles Leclerc ahead of Valtteri Bottas and Pierre Gasly, while Carlos Sainz and Romain Grosjean were between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel. The session was quite difficult for Renault as both drivers had to settle for 17th and 18th places. <\/p>\n
\nFP2 CLASSIFICATION: #FridayFeeling<\/a> for @Charles_Leclerc<\/a> \ud83d\udc4f#AustrianGP<\/a> \ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddf9 #F1<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/r1NcKtefvD<\/a><\/p>\n