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F1 LIVE | Second free practice for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone
- GPblog.com
With the first free practice session behind them, the Formula One drivers are now preparing for the second and final session of the day. The next hour will be mainly devoted to long runs and finding the right set-up for Sunday's race.
LIVE | British Grand Prix FP2
Red Bull very strong, Ferrari and Mercedes looking for more
All eyes are on Red Bull Racing, which is in the form of its life. Ferrari, however, has been working hard to narrow the gap in top speed and solve the reliability problems of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. The Italian team needs a strong result to keep its head above water in the title race and will therefore be very combative.
Mercedes is also keen: Lewis Hamilton even thinks he has a chance of victory, but the German team's update package must do everything expected of it. A podium could be in the cards for him or his team-mate George Russell, but they would normally need one or more breakdowns from their rivals at the top of the field.
During the second free practice session at Silverstone, the teams will focus on finding the right set-up for the race. To achieve that, long runs will be completed to see how things stand. However, we are at Silverstone, and that means there is always a chance that rain will throw a spanner in the works.
The story of 2022
Pre-season testing demonstrated that Ferrari were back at the front of the Formula 1 grid. In the early races, they seemed to be on top but Red Bull are currently on a winning streak. Charles Leclerc is getting the pole positions, but it's Max Verstappen doing the business in the races on Sunday. Mercedes haven't been in the mix for race wins this season, as Hamilton and Russell struggled with porpoising. Mercedes believe they have got a grip on this now and there are strong suggestions they will be in the mix.
F1 started the season with brand new rules and regulations. So far, they have improved the racing as drivers can now follow each other closely for a number of laps. This has created a few on-track battles that last more than one corner as we've seen in previous years. It has also provided a bit of a change in the standings. Alfa Romeo, with Valtteri Bottas, have made huge gains. Williams still sit at the bottom of the standings, with Haas much closer to the midfield than years gone by. McLaren seemed to have moved backwards but still hold foruth. Alpine are battling for that position and look to be improving. In Canada, last time out, Fernando Alonso started from the front row.