Norris beats Leclerc and Hamilton to top FP2

Lando Norris went fastest in a gusty Formula 1 British Grand Prix FP2 session, where the McLaren driver eclipsed the two Ferraris with a healthy margin to close out Friday practice.

Ambient temperatures had risen marginally in the break between FP1 and FP2, rising by around 2C, although the track remained stable at around 38C. As such, the Ferraris demonstrated a continuation of their FP1 pace in the early phases of the second session.

Lewis Hamilton had led the way amid the opening runs on mediums, setting a 1m26.592s on the C3 tyres to conclude the first 20 minutes of the session on top.

But the order changed when the qualifying simulation laps began to trickle in on the C4 soft tyre, kicked off by the two Mercedes drivers. George Russell opened the flying laps but found less than a tenth on Hamilton’s lap, before Andrea Kimi Antonelli put almost 0.2s on his team-mate – losing with a snap through Club.

Charles Leclerc then turned up the wick with a 1m26.202s, although reported an issue with the front-left that he felt had cost him time. This opened the gates for Norris to post a 1m25.816s to fly to the top of the order with four-tenths in hand over Leclerc.

Hamilton had backed out of his initial soft-tyre run, but went again to set a time 0.3s short of Norris; Leclerc responded to close the gap, but was unable to join Norris in the 1m25s.

Oscar Piastri was fourth, 0.47s down on his team-mate, just under 0.03s quicker than a late effort from Max Verstappen – who reported that his front end was struggling to bite in the high-speed turns.

Antonelli was sixth ahead of Lance Stroll, while Russell’s earlier soft-tyre effort washed out in eighth place, just 0.001s clear of Isack Hadjar and 0.101s better than Liam Lawson as the Racing Bulls completed the top 10.

Carlos Sainz suffered a spin after the opening 15 minutes of FP2, which was put down to a 20kph gust on the exit of Luffield. In that moment, he came close the rear of Hamilton’s car, then was placed under investigation for rejoining unsafely in front of Nico Hulkenberg.

F1 British GP – FP2 results