British GP 2023
JULY 7, 2023
Friday Report - Verstappen Again Fastest in FP2
© Red Bull
By Peter Habicht
Max Verstappen was fastest in free practice two at a sunny Silverstone circuit, followed by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Williams’ Alex Albon. The Dutchman’s teammate Sergio Perez and Williams’ Logan Sargeant were next quickest as electrical issues on Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari kept him from participating in the session.
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was sixth fastest with Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg improving to seventh, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri were behind and just ahead of Aston’s Fernando Alonso in tenth.
Guanyu Zhou was 11th, and experienced an issue with his steering wheel which was replaced early in the session for him to continue. George Russell’s Mercedes struggled with a lack of grip on the track as he finished the session behind in 12th, followed by Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and McLaren’s Lando Norris.
Said Russel after the session: “We’re seeing a small trend when the temperature’s hotter we take a bit of a step backwards . . . we’ve got some ideas why that is.” Mercedes’ upgrades to their cars have been difficult to measure so far due to wind conditions around the circuit.
Russel’s teammate Lewis Hamilton was 14th fastest in the session, followed by Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas and Haas’ Kevin Magnussen. Nyck de Vries’ Alpha Tauri finished at the back of the field and suffered from severe bouncing over the curbing, losing tire pressure under braking with no time remaining in the session. Pirelli has moved up their introduction of a new tire construction to this weekend’s race and is meant to provide extra resistance to fatigue.
Rain is expected before and possibly during tomorrow’s qualifying for the British Grand Prix at 3pm tomorrow.