Bottas stays on top in twice-halted Tuscan GP FP2

Valtteri Bottas stayed fastest as Mercedes again finished clear of its opposition during second practice for Formula 1’s Tuscan Grand Prix.

The high-speed nature of the Mugello venue had been expected to play to the strengths of Mercedes’ W11 and such thoughts were proved in hot conditions on Friday afternoon.

On Soft tyres – for this weekend the C3s – Bottas clocked a time of 1:16.989, the fastest ever lap of the Mugello track, beating a track record from 16 years ago.

World Champion Lewis Hamilton finished 0.207s adrift in second spot while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen remained in contention, 0.246s behind Bottas.

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Alexander Albon backed up team-mate Verstappen in fourth though was again substantially behind the Dutchman, finishing seven-tenths down.

Renault fronts midfield pack

Renault thrived in Belgium before drifting back slightly at the first Italian round, but at the high-downforce Mugello track showed strong one-lap potential.

Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon placed fifth and sixth respectively, putting the R.S.20 as the third-fastest package, ahead of outgoing Racing Point driver Sergio Perez.

Monza victor Pierre Gasly maintained his and AlphaTauri’s strong form by classifying eighth.

Ferrari firmly mid-grid

In the context of its recent events Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel placing 10th and 12th respectively marked a sign of improvement for Ferrari.

The manufacturer is celebrating its 1000th grand prix this weekend at a circuit which it owns and has painted the SF1000 in a retro burgundy to mark the occasion.

But there were still less than encouraging signs for Ferrari.

On pure pace alone it was 1.4s behind Mercedes while Leclerc was eclipsed by Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen, running the same spec Ferrari power unit in the C39.

Leclerc and Vettel also both had spins through the Correntaio corner during the session.

Vettel then stopped on track just as the session finished, citing an engine issue.

Two shunts bring out red flags

Lando Norris finished down in 14th spot, one place behind McLaren team-mate Carlos Sainz, but caused the session to be stopped when he crashed heavily.

Norris drifted wide through the gravel exiting Poggio Secco and hit the barriers, wiping the front end off the car, and took no further part in proceedings.

The second session-halting incident was more bizarre, as Perez and Raikkonen clashed at the first corner.

With 20 minutes remaining Perez exited the pit lane just as Raikkonen was continuing with his long run.

The two clashed into San Donato; Perez lost minor parts of his front wing while Raikkonen was tipped into the gravel, from where he recovered back to the pit lane.

The incident is being investigated by the stewards.

More woe for Haas

Haas has suffered from power unit issues throughout the past few weekends and once more its progress was stymied by a mechanical problem.

Romain Grosjean managed only five laps prior to a suspected electronics fault and he finished at the rear of the pack.

Team-mate Kevin Magnussen fared little better, classifying 19th, behind the two Williams drivers, who sandwiched sole home representative Antonio Giovinazzi.

Saturday’s third practice session is scheduled for 12:00 local time.