Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari was quickest in Belgium on Friday.
Charles Leclerc led the Formula 1 field in practice for the Belgium Grand Prix on Friday at the fearsome Spa-Francorchamps circuit, while Sergio Perez ended his day watching his Racing Point car sit smoking by the side of the road.
Things we know from the season so far: Ferrari has the quickest car in a straight line but corners are not a strong point. On the flip side, Mercedes and Red Bull are blistering through corners, but have a lower top speed.
Now this has been established, it will come as no surprise that Ferrari was quickest on the largely flat out sectors one and three at Spa, while Red Bull and Mercedes are the ones to beat in the middle, much more technical sector two.
It is difficult to read too much into the six-tenth second gap between Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel at the front. Fuel loads are unknown, engine modes are unknown – so Leclerc may just have been given a little more to play with on his lap.
Alex Albon, promoted from Toro Rosso to replace Pierre Gasly, was hot on the heels of Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen during the early part of the session.
Again, the timesheet must not be read literally in the case of the Red Bull drivers, as a raft of engine penalties mean that Albon will be starting at the back of the grid, regardless of his qualifying performance.
Racing Point brought an upgrade package to Spa. Now running a more conventional nose, as apposed to the nostril arrangement which they had run for a number of years, Perez seemed to be enjoying the balance of the car and set the fifth fastest time.
Lance Stroll had previously been on the radio to his team complaining of something seemingly burning around his seat. Pitting to check things out, it appeared that all was well but, in the sister car, Perez stopped on track with four-minutes of the session remaining.
The audio playback showed a clear mechanical failure, although it remains unclear whether the issue was gearbox or power unit related.
Practice Two Results
Pos.
Driver
Constructor
Tire
Time
1
Charles Leclerc
Scuderia Ferrari
S
1:44.123
2
Sebastian Vettel
Scuderia Ferrari
S
+0.630
3
Valtteri Bottas
Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport
S
+0.846
4
Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport
S
+0.892
5
Sergio Perez
SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team
S
+0.994
6
Max Verstappen
Aston Martin Red Bull Racing
M
+1.271
7
Kimi Raikkonen
Alfa Romeo Racing
S
+1.585
8
Lance Stroll
SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team
S
+1.609
9
Daniel Ricciardo
Renault F1 Team
S
+1.612
10
Alexander Albon
Aston Martin Red Bull Racing
S
+1.648
11
Carlos Sainz Jr.
McLaren F1 Team
S
+1.876
12
Romain Grosjean
Rich Energy Haas F1 Team
S
+1.997
13
Nico Hulkenberg
Renault F1 Team
S
+2.086
14
Daniil Kvyat
Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda
S
+2.091
15
Lando Norris
McLaren F1 Team
S
+2.135
16
Antonio Giovinazzi
Alfa Romeo Racing
S
+2.205
17
Pierre Gasly
Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda
S
+2.251
18
Kevin Magnussen
Rich Energy Haas F1 Team
S
+2.276
19
George Russell
ROKiT Williams Racing
S
+3.764
20
Robert Kubica
ROKiT Williams Racing
S
+4.208
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