Max Verstappen set the fastest time in the second practice session on Friday at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with a time of 1:13.907.
Verstappen ended the session with a time 0.170s faster than Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso while Nico Hulkenberg ended the session fourth fastest ahead of Sergio Perez.
As in FP1, a number of drivers continued to note a bump at the final corner – given its significantly higher apex speed – and referenced their cars bottoming out through the turn.
Mercedes’ George Russell made a trip across the gravel on one of his push laps, at Turn 10, while he attempted to avoid a cruising Oscar Piastri.
After the first twenty minutes, Verstappen was already topping the times on the medium tyres whereas the two Ferraris trailed behind with laps set on the soft compound – the first team to fit the soft tyre.
The Ferraris continued on the soft tyres. Carlos Sainz was able to glide to the top of the times followed by Charles Leclerc who claimed the fastest lap of the session so far.
Verstappen was quick to respond though, putting his RB19 back at the top of the times on his newly fitted soft tyres.
Hulkenberg and Esteban Ocon followed by setting the 2nd and 3rd fastest times of the session so far.
With just under half of the session remaining, Alonso improved to set the second-fastest time, with the quickest final sector.
In the final quarter of the session, very light spots of rain started to fall in parts of the circuit – the majority of the drivers were on longer and slower race runs – meaning that there weren’t any further lap time improvements.
