Verstappen dominates FP2 at Red Bull Ring

Can we talk about provisional pole position? The severe weather expected in the Spielberg region between Saturday and Sunday morning made the Free Practice 2 session even more important than usual. 

It could indeed be that this session determines the starting order for the Styrian Grand Prix on Sunday if qualifying cannot take place due to the weather.

Max Verstappen therefore had the good idea to achieve the best time on Friday afternoon with a time of 1’03”660. The pilot Red Bull anticipate the Mercedes de Valtteri Bottas, brilliant winner of the first GP of the season last Sunday, by 43 thousandths. 

Sergio Pérez, who was the fastest in the morning, confirms the good performance of the Racing Points with the 3rd mark, a little more than 2 tenths from the reference established by Verstappen. His teammate Lance stroll finished in 4th position, more than half a second behind the leading Red Bull. 

The Canadian precedes the McLaren de Carlos Sainz, while you have to go down to 6th place to find any trace of the six-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. The Mercedes driver was not happy with the car on a flying lap » said the German team. 

Alexander albon also appeared in difficulty aboard the second Red Bull. The Thai spun several times and had to settle for 7th time, ahead of Lando Norris (McLaren), who will have to move back 3 places on the grid on Sunday. 

The first Ferrari, that of Charles Leclerc, is only 9th in the hierarchy on Friday afternoon, more than a second behind Verstappen. There Team nevertheless brought the majority of the aerodynamic developments initially planned for the Hungarian Grand Prix. His teammate Sebastian Vettel is only 16th, between the Williams by George Russell and Nicholas latifi.

Esteban Ocon completes the Top 10 and brings a little comfort to a stable Renault who got scared at the start of the session. The Diamond has indeed seen Daniel Ricciardo suffer a violent exit from the track. His R.S.20 spun and hit the protective barriers without really slowing down. The Australian got out of the car without difficulty but was limping when he got into the medical car. 

Ricciardo was, however, declared good for service after a visit to the circuit doctor. The same cannot be said of his Renault, damaged to say the least in the accident. 

In the French clan, Pierre Gasly finishes at the gates of the Top 10 and precedes his teammate Alpha Tauri. Quite surprisingly, the Norman was annoyed at having to offer the Russian a suction during the session. 

Further, the misfortunes of Haas seem to continue since Kevin Magnussen et Romain Grosjean bring up the rear of those who were able to sign a timed lap. 

The future will tell if the classification of these EL2s will dictate the grid on Sunday but as it stands it would have the merit of displaying a fairly unique look. 

Here's how FP2 played out #AustrianGP  #F1 pic.twitter.com/Vm3vFHNeTp

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