FP2 Summary and Results - Mercedes dominant and Ferrari slow

FP2 has come to an end. Mercedes will be very happy with their 1 - 2 finish as it sets them up well for FP3 and qualifying tomorrow. Things are still uncertain as Ferrari and Red Bull are thought to have been hiding their true speed as they look to surprise teams tomorrow during qualifying.

The session started well for Haas. Romain Grosjean set some solid laps with a 1.25.6. More teams started to leave the pits and head out on track and the radio messages were informing the drivers of the conditions out on the track.

"The wind is stronger and it's also come round. There's more of a crosswind on the start-finish straight on your right-hand side," Sainz was told over the radio.

More teams took to the track and interestingly both Charles Leclerc and Kimi Raikkonen ran wide running over the grass. Most teams seemed to agree that the track was slower than it was during FP1. Vettel also had a moment where he went too wide and ended up turning his car into a lawnmower. No cars were damaged but it showed that getting the setup right at this track is vital.  

As soon as Kevin Magnussen set a fast lap he set a 1.24.409 which was the fastest lap in a Haas at that point. It is going to be fierce to see who is quicker out of Grosjean and Magnussen this season.

Ricciardo took a long time to get out on track due to an issue in his cockpit which his mechanics had to work on. However, they managed to get some solid laps in but were not particularly fast.  

Verstappen had some good laps in his Red Bull, setting a 1.24.324. Pierre Gasly did well as well but Verstappen was quicker and seemed to be more comfortable around the track.  

Lewis Hamilton showed his dominance today. The reigning champion set a series of fast laps and finished the session with the fastest time of a 1.22.600. The Mercedes looked a bit on edge so they will try and sort out the balance out for tomorrows sessions. Bottas was consistent and set a 1.22.648. 

"There seems to be something wrong," said Vettel on the team radio. Leclerc also reported issues with his car at the end of the session. Pundits seem to think that both Ferrari and Red Bull have been sandbagging during this session. They must be hiding their true speed unless they are genuinely slow. We will see tomorrow during qualifying which teams have been hiding their pace and who is actually the fastest. 

Lewis Hamilton - 32 - 1.22.600

Valtteri Bottas - 33 - + 0.048

Max Verstappen - 33 - + 0.800

Pierre Gasly - 31 - + 0.842

Sebastian Vettel - 35 - + 0.873

Kimi Raikkonen - 40 - + 0.972

Nico Hulkenberg - 37 - + 0.974

Daniel Ricciardo - 31 - + 1.044

Charles Leclerc - 35 - 1.154

Romain Grosjean - 37 - +1.214

Daniil Kvyat - 36 - + 1.333

Kevin Magnussen - 27 - + 1.388

Lance Stroll - 38 - + 1.411

Sergio Perez - 34 - + 1.533

Antonio Giovinazzi - 37 - + 1.693

Alex Albon - 40 - + 2.075

Lando Norris - 26 - + 2.133

Carlos Sainz - 26 - + 2.133

George Russell - 16 - + 3.853

Robert Kubica - 17 - + 4.055