Formula 1 Today: Lewis Hamilton Tops FP2 at Spanish Grand Prix as Red Bull and Max Verstappen Struggle

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton Sets the Pace in FP2

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton set the pace in the second practice session (FP2) at the Spanish Grand Prix, with a lap time of 1m13.264s, as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen struggled to find his rhythm. However, digging deeper into the times reveals that Verstappen and his team are not panicking, with a significant set-up change planned for Saturday that is expected to bring both one-lap and long-run gains.

Mercedes Confident, McLaren and Ferrari Show Strong Pace

Meanwhile, Mercedes is quietly confident it can stay in the hunt, more so than at other events this season where it has looked strong early in a weekend before fading. McLaren and Ferrari also showed strong pace, with Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc respectively, raising hopes of a four-way fight for Barcelona supremacy.

FP1 and FP2 Highlights

FP1 was a cautious affair, with drivers focusing on gathering aero data and tyre information. George Russell, Verstappen, and Carlos Sainz exchanged the top spot, with Norris eventually topping the session with a 1m14.228s lap time. The second session saw Mercedes lead the way, with Russell initially heading the pack on medium tyres before Hamilton took the top spot with his session-leading time.

Red Bull’s Sergio Perez completed his soft-tyre running late in the session, ending up 13th and 0.577s off Verstappen’s fifth-place time. The field then conducted long-run data-gathering exercises, which were notable for Ferrari spending a long time altering Leclerc’s set-up and Hamilton and Norris dipping wheels into the gravel.

Close Competition and Verstappen’s Set-up Changes

The data revealed that the best times from Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren in FP2 were covered by just 0.055s, highlighting how close things sit right now. GPS trace data also showed that Hamilton’s FP2 best time was achieved through acing the typical Barcelona challenge of not pushing too hard early in a lap and having tyre life left to spend come the final turns.

Verstappen’s Red Bull was quick through the speed traps, but the team’s set-up has to go in a higher-downforce direction for the race, which will add one-lap stability on this track. The Dutchman’s slender rear wing compared to a more normal Barcelona downforce arrangement made the difference on the straights.

Red Bull’s best average on the soft long-runs was a massive 0.71s up on McLaren and a further 0.158s better than Mercedes. However, Verstappen’s times on the red-walled compound do tail off rather compared to Norris and Hamilton, suggesting he was suffering from more tyre degradation.

Ferrari’s long-run pace was further adrift, including on the medium tyre averages. The Italian team completed considerable set-up changes around a ride height adjustment on Leclerc’s car ahead of his FP2-closing long-run, raising hopes of improvement tomorrow.

The Battle for Barcelona Supremacy

As the grid heads into qualifying, the question remains: can Red Bull and Verstappen bounce back, or will Mercedes, McLaren, and Ferrari continue to challenge for the top spot? With the track temperature expected to rise and the tyres behaving differently, it’s all to play for in the battle for Barcelona supremacy. Stay tuned for the latest Formula 1 news, Formula 1 standings, Formula 1 tyres, and Formula 1 calendar updates.

Image credits: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images, Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images, Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images, Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images

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