British GP – EL2: The battle continues between Ferrari and McLaren

As in Free Practice 1, Ferrari and McLaren took the top four places in the second session of the day, while Max Verstappen continued to complain about his car.

Published 04/07/2025 à 18:02

Cyprien Juilhard

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British GP – EL2: The battle continues between Ferrari and McLaren

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In these times of rumors, where Max Verstappen, Red Bull et Mercedes make headlines off-piste, McLaren et Ferrari take advantage of this to gain a clear advantage over the competition. Between the British and the Italians, it's a game of "you, me" that takes place on this first day of driving at Silverstone.

After Lewis Hamilton in EL1, Lando Norris picked up his rivals to set the best time in FP2, ahead of the two Ferraris of Charles Leclerc (+0 »222) and Lewis Hamilton (+0 »301). Oscar piastri brings up the rear in this quartet made up of drivers from the top two teams in the Constructors' standings.

This is the fourth consecutive session in which the top four places have been shared between Ferrari and McLaren. In Austria, Lando Norris took pole position ahead of Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri, and Lewis Hamilton. The following day, the Briton claimed his third victory of the season ahead of his teammate and the two SF-25s.

Verstappen complains, Alpine peine

This hierarchy, enabled by Mercedes' decline and a new floor with satisfactory results for Ferrari, allows the Reds to break away from the pack of chasers chasing McLaren. The Woking firm has not yet wavered, but the Italians are closing in irremediably and seem to be on pace at the start of the weekend.

On the other hand, his fifth place finish barely masks the difficulties encountered by Max Verstappen, who once again complained about his car : the four-time world champion particularly felt that his tires were not working in fast corners. A pitfall that he also encountered Yuki tsunoda, fifteenth after missing FP1, replaced by Arvid Lindblad.

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The day was, however, more positive for the sister team, Racing Bulls, who seemed to have the pace to challenge for the top 10 in both qualifying and race pace. On the other hand, the day was less brilliant for WilliamsWhere Carlos Sainz spun, causing a yellow flag and narrowly missing clipping Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari. It was a scare for the Madrid driver, but the pace isn't there for Grove's team, which has struggled in recent weeks.

In the last three Grand Prix, only Alpine scored fewer points and the situation does not seem to be improving at Silverstone. Franco Colapinto occupies a sad last place, while Pierre Gasly is only two places higher, in a painful 18th place. The Norman, critical of his single-seater at the end of Free Practice 1, will undoubtedly still have a lot to say to his engineers.

F1 – British GP 

The ranking of Free Practice 2

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2 Comment (s)

V

vincent moyet

04/07/2025 at 07:20 a.m.

On a big, fast circuit like this, every lap must seem very long in a Alpine with its sluggish engine. Both Alpine could well dominate the last row, as well as at Spa and Monza.

L

Lejeune

04/07/2025 at 07:01 a.m.

"The three-time world champion"? What? Another typical blunder from AH! Yuck!

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