Spain – Free Practice 2: Confirmation for Mercedes, Ferrari Still Lagging Behind!

Typically quick on Fridays, the Catalan public expected a rebound from Scuderia Ferrari in this second free practice session after a FP1 overshadowed by Mercedes. However, it was not the case! Dominated in the morning, the Reds were also below par in the afternoon. Valtteri Bottas took the top spot midway through the session, with a time of 1:17.284. Equipped with soft tires, the championship leader just narrowly took the lead, as Lewis Hamilton had set a time of 1:17.333 a few minutes earlier, ahead of both Ferraris, with Charles Leclerc finishing the session ahead of Sebastian Vettel.

And while the Briton got closer to the front during this second session, his time in no way reflects the difficulties he encountered, particularly with his hard tires. By his own admission, his car was “undriveable,” sliding in the corners, both at the beginning and end of the session.

The only consolation for Ferrari is the power of its “Spec-2” engine, with impressive straight-line performance. Charles Leclerc was clocked at 327 km/h down the straight during the session! A nice mark, ultimately insufficient, especially given Mercedes’ dominance in the third sector, the most winding part of the circuit.

Behind Max Verstappen’s inevitable Red Bull, once again 5th, the battle for “best of the rest” was won by a Frenchman, but not necessarily the one expected. In 6th, Romain Grosjean finished ahead of Pierre Gasly by a margin of less than a tenth of a second. In the French camp, however, more disappointment for the Renault team: Nico Hülkenberg finished only 14th, just ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, both cars were relegated a second and a half behind Bottas after the checkered flag! On the other hand, Haas continued to impress with its car visibly rejuvenated by the upgrades.

At the bottom of the standings, Robert Kubica will regret the outcome of his session, stuck in the garage in the last half-hour due to an engine problem at the rear of his Williams. After Lance Stroll’s accident this morning, the drivers remained quite cautious, despite a few small off-track incidents, for Daniil Kvyat’s Toro Rosso in the first corner, or Grosjean’s Haas in the eighth corner.

Romain Grosjean tiptoeing onto the gravel 😯#SpanishGP 🇪🇸 #F1 pic.twitter.com/YTSgHATXc1

— Formula 1 (@F1) May 10, 2019

Here is the final ranking of this second free practice session:

FP2 CLASSIFICATION: After 35 laps apiece just 0:049 seconds separates Bottas and Hamilton#SpanishGP 🇪🇸 #F1 pic.twitter.com/xs12hFWOV8

— Formula 1 (@F1) 10 mai 2019

From our special correspondent in Barcelona (Montmelo)