Formula 1 Today: Hamilton Claims Top Spot in FP2 Ahead of Spanish GP
Friday, May 19, 2023 (Motorsport Images)
In an intense second practice session, Formula 1 seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton surged to the top of the order, edging out home favourite Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris. Hamilton’s exceptional performance on the soft tyres saw him claim a 1m13.264s lap time, narrowly beating Sainz’s earlier effort by just two-hundredths of a second.
Earlier, George Russell had set the pace on medium tyres, posting a 1m14.089s lap, while Norris, the FP1 headliner, had initially set the benchmark with a 1m14.197s. However, Sainz upped the ante with a 1m13.286s on the soft tyres, briefly challenged by Norris, who could only manage to lag 0.033s behind his former teammate.
Max Verstappen, meanwhile, struggled to find the optimal pace on his qualifying-adjacent lap, ultimately falling short of the top two. Hamilton’s Mercedes then came alive, and he clocked the fastest first and third sectors on his first attempt, with a strong final sector securing him the top spot.
As attention turned to race runs, the timing board remained largely unchanged, with Sainz and Norris completing the top three, all within a narrow 0.055s bracket of Hamilton’s best effort. Pierre Gasly’s surprise effort split Verstappen from the leading trio, while Charles Leclerc, who sat out the longer runs, remained sixth fastest.
Oscar Piastri claimed seventh spot ahead of Russell, who struggled with an apparent lack of stopping power on his Mercedes, falling just shy of his teammate’s top-line effort. Esteban Ocon gave Alpine reason to celebrate, securing the ninth fastest time, with Valtteri Bottas rounding out the top 10.
“With the Tag Heuer Formula 1 tyres playing a crucial role in the teams’ quest for speed, it’s clear that fine-tuning will be key to success in this weekend’s Spanish GP.”
Stay tuned for more action-packed Formula 1 today!
🔗 Source