Friday Report - Norris leads McLaren 1-2

Lando Norris
© McLaren

Lando Norris led an impressive McLaren one-two in FP2 for the British Grand Prix, with the historic team dominating the first day of running at Silverstone. The MCL38 once again proved competitive across different tracks, and the British driver, determined to make up for a missed win at the Red Bull Ring, was extremely quick in both sessions. However, Norris’s car wasn’t easy to handle, as he went wide during his qualifying simulation, causing minor floor damage. Norris posted the fastest lap time of 1:27.064, showcasing his pace despite the mishap.

Oscar Piastri, who had a slower start to the weekend, backed up his teammate with the second quickest time of 1:27.391, although he was over 0.3 seconds off Norris’s pace. Piastri’s performance solidified McLaren’s strong showing and boosted the team’s confidence for the rest of the weekend.

Red Bull employed an unusual strategy in FP2, with Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez using three sets of tires, including two sets of Softs. Anticipating rain midway through the session, Red Bull rushed its drivers through an early qualifying simulation. When the track stayed dry until the final seven minutes, both drivers were given a second set of Softs for additional runs. Verstappen’s attempt was aborted after an off at Becketts, leaving him with a best time of 1:27.654, placing him in P7. Pérez, on the other hand, improved by 0.45 seconds with the second set of Softs, securing P3 with a time of 1:27.498, more than 0.4 seconds behind Norris.

Mercedes and Ferrari remained a bit behind the faster cars, with Charles Leclerc beating Lewis Hamilton by just 0.052 seconds. Leclerc, running Ferrari’s new floor introduced for the SF-24 at the Spanish Grand Prix, posted a best time of 1:27.702. Carlos Sainz, running with the old floor, clocked in at 1:27.793. Given the minimal gap between the two, Ferrari has significant analysis to do before deciding on their configuration for the rest of the weekend. Leclerc’s session included a dramatic moment at Stowe, where he managed to control the car after a sideways slide. In long runs, Leclerc averaged 0.35 seconds slower than Verstappen, while Sainz, on Softs, completed only five significant laps.

Mercedes didn’t show significant improvement from FP1, a recurring trend in recent races. George Russell struggled on his low-fuel run, finishing 10th with a best time of 1:28.001, improving by just 0.2 seconds with the Softs compared to his best on Mediums. Hamilton, however, was 6th fastest with a time of 1:27.620, improving by 0.8 seconds from his Medium tire run. Both Mercedes drivers used Softs for long runs, with Russell matching the lap times of Norris and Verstappen on Medium compounds.

Nico Hulkenberg surprised everyone by setting the fourth quickest time of 1:27.547, ahead of all Ferrari and Mercedes drivers. Despite running a lighter fuel load, estimated at 10 kilograms less, Hulkenberg’s corrected lap time would still place him competitively, on par with Lance Stroll for best of the rest.

VCARB struggled in FP2, with Yuki Tsunoda complaining of understeer and ending up 16th with a time of 1:28.501. Daniel Ricciardo was nearly 0.2 seconds slower, finishing in P19 with a time of 1:28.685, just ahead of Kevin Magnussen, who couldn’t complete a clean lap on Softs after handing his car to Oliver Bearman in FP1.