Austria Grand Prix – Free Practice 2: Ferrari, Verstappen followed by Alpine lurking

Continuation of the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring for free practice 2. The cloudy sky does not pose a threat of rain. The temperatures are 20°C in the air and 38°C on the tarmac.

As part of the “sprint race” format, it should be noted that the qualifying sessions have already taken place on Friday and there is no third free practice session.

Let’s now make way for some practice laps in preparation for the sprint race this Saturday afternoon. The main focus is to continue to understand tire and strategy management while fine-tuning the race settings. The current Parc Fermé regulations indeed restrict teams to only a few aerodynamic adjustments.

Both Mercedes were able to be repaired on time, despite the curfew imposed by the FIA. However, after 10 minutes of the session, there was no sign of Lewis Hamilton in his garage, while George Russell started his run.

No more driving after 15 minutes at Alpine, with a noticeable relaxation following the good results in the qualifying rounds.

In a racing pace, Verstappen occupies the top spot in the provisional standings with a time of 1:08.996. He continues to manage his race weekend in the best possible way. He is followed by Sainz and Russell.

As the halfway point approaches, Esteban Ocon finally takes off, followed closely by Alonso. Only Hamilton, whose Mercedes is being rebuilt, has not yet completed a lap.

In practice, the red tires seem to last only around ten fast laps on this fast Red Bull Ring circuit before blistering occurs on the surface. Without the appearance of the hard tires, except for Aston Martin who only tested them for one lap, the priority will probably be given to the medium tires, unless rain decides to change the plans.

Good pace from the Alpines with Ocon in 3rd place while Alonso is chasing him closely.

Surge of pride at Ferrari, whose two drivers manage to snatch the top spot in the provisional rankings from Max Verstappen. At the bottom of the standings, Ricciardo continues to struggle while Norris holds the 9th position.

After the last quarter of the session, Lewis Hamilton finally takes to the track. He sets the 9th fastest time on his first flying lap.

Scare for Charles Leclerc as he approached the last corner, with a well-recovered slide by the Monegasque.

End of Free Practice 2 session at the Red Bull Ring.