Spanish GP 2020
AUGUST 14, 2020
Friday Report - A Surprise
© Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
By Dan Knutson
It was no surprise that Mercedes teammates Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas topped the time sheets in Free Practice 2 for the Spanish Grand Prix, but it was a surprise that Romain Grosjean hauled his Haas up to fifth place.
The line-up for the weekend was: Mercedes – Hamilton and Bottas; Ferrari – Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc; Red Bull Honda – Max Verstappen and Alexander Albon; McLaren Renault – Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris; Renault – Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon; AlphaTauri Honda – Daniil Kvyat and Pierre Gasly; Racing Point Mercedes – Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll; Alfa Romeo Ferrari – Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi; Haas Ferrari – Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen; Williams Mercedes – George Russell and Nicolas Latifi.
After missing two races because he had Covid-19, Perez was back in the cockpit of the Racing Point.
Bottas was fastest in the morning session with a time of 1:16.785, a fraction quicker than Hamilton’s 1:16.824.
First out in FP2 was Norris. He did a practice start at the end of pit lane and then had the track to himself until Giovinazzi joined him.
The ambient temperature at the start of the 90-minute session was 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Centigrade) and the track temperature was 120 degrees Fahrenheit (49 degrees Centigrade).
Norris clocked the first time – a 1:19.260 – using the medium Pirelli tires.
The top six 15 minutes into FP2 were: Leclerc, Bottas, Norris, Vettel, Ricciardo and Kvyat.
Then Hamilton took the lead with his 1:17.970, which was over a second quicker than Leclerc. Bottas moved into second while Ricciardo took third.
“These tires are just not working at all," Russell radioed – one of several drivers including Bottas to complain about the hard compound Pirelli.
Verstappen moved into second place at the 25 minute mark with a time 0.4 of a second slower than Hamilton.
So, 30 minutes in, the order was: Hamilton, Verstappen, Bottas, Ricciardo, Leclerc, Norris, Vettel and Albon. All had used the medium compound tires.
Bottas then tried the soft compound tires to clock a 1:17.170 – slower than his morning time because the track temperatures were considerably hotter.
He then did two cool down laps, and his second attempt was three-tenths of a second slower.
Sainz was the second driver to try the softs, and his time of 1:18.214 put him up to third place.
Hamilton’s “soft” run yielded a 1:16.883 and first place. Grosjean popped up to third. And now the Ferraris headed out on the softs. Ricciardo displaced Grosjean while Leclerc grabbed fifth behind Grosjean.
Halfway through FP2, with most drivers having done their soft tire runs, the top 10 were: Hamilton, Bottas, Verstappen, Ricciardo, Grosjean, Leclerc, Sainz, Perez, Ocon and Gasly.
A number of drivers were now doing long runs on the soft tires to see how long they would last. In fact, only Giovinazzi was on the mediums.
The drivers then switched over to the medium or hard compound Pirellis to do their race simulations. The top 10 remained unchanged, with Grosjean a surprise fifth.