British Grand Prix: F1 Free Practice 2 Results

Lando Norris topped FP2 on a successful Friday ahead of his teammate Oscar Piastri and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez at the British Grand Prix.

Many drivers will be returning to their cars after missing out in FP1. Haas driver for 2025 Oliver Bearman replaced outgoing Kevin Magnussen in FP1, with the Dane returning in FP2.

Sergio Perez will be back in his Red Bull, replacing Isack Hadjar. Pierre Gasly will be back in his Alpine after reserve driver Jack Doohan took the reigns in FP1. Finally, Logan Sargeant will return to his Williams car in FP2 after Franco Colapinto was in it for FP1.

The gap at the top was tight during the first practice session. Lando Norris topped the session with a 1:27.420 on the soft tyre. However, the fight between Red Bull, McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari for pole position seems to be on.

News broke out that Alpine driver Pierre Gasly will start the British Grand Prix from the back of the grid after taking a new engine.

Greenlight

Williams driver Logan Sargeant was the first to exit the pitlane, looking to get as much track time after missing FP1. RB driver Yuki Tsunoda closely followed, looking to get more track time after his spin in FP1.

Tsunoda was the first driver to set a lap time, setting a 1:29.560 on the medium tyre. However, Carlos Sainz would quickly displace the Japanese driver, setting a 1:28.666 on the same compound. Sainz’s teammate Charles Leclerc then displaced him, setting a 1:28.453.

Reigning world champion Max Verstappen then dipped into the 1:27’s, setting a 1:27.831. Norris put in a lap time good enough for second – just over three-tenths off the Red Bull driver’s time. Lewis Hamilton edged Norris’ time to take second spot from his fellow Briton.

Some mistakes were occuring with Leclerc going wide at the exit of Becketts. The Monegasque said on the team radio that he is “really struggling” at high speed corners. Gasly also went wide, but at the exit of Copse.

Sainz set the same lap time as Hamilton, whilst Leclerc jumped up to second, going two-and-a-half tenths slower than Verstappen.

Qualifying runs

Verstappen was the first driver to do a qualifying simulation on the soft tyre. The Dutchman extended his gap to the rest of the drivers, setting a 1:27.233, going eight tenths clear of Leclerc in second. Sainz set the quickest time of the medium runners shortly after, going 0.523 seconds slower than Verstappen’s soft tyre run.

Russell went for another medium tyre run – on new mediums – going within three tenths of Verstappen’s soft tyre run and climbing up to second in the timesheet.

Fernando Alonso was the second driver to set a lap time on the soft tyre. The Spaniard went second, going going one-and-a-half tenths slower than Verstappen. Shortly after, Valtteri Bottas beat Alonso’s time by 0.005 seconds to replace him at second.

Lance Stroll then went to second. The Canadian was 0.041 seconds behind Verstappen, despite being 0.116 seconds ahead of the Dutchman after two sectors. Sainz then went second, going 0.016 seconds slower than Verstappen.

However, Leclerc then went quickest of everyone until Nico Hulkenberg displaced the Monegasque – the first driver into the 1:26’s. Oscar Piastri quickly displaced Hulkenberg, setting a 1:26.880.

Piastri’s teammate Norris smashed the Australian’s lap time, going over three-tenths quicker with a 1:26.549. Despite setting the quickest lap time, the Briton was concerned that he potentially damaged his floor at the exit of Copse.

After a flurry of runs on the soft tyre for qualifying simulations, all drivers’ attention switched to race runs. Rain in the last five minutes also put a halt to any drivers improving. Norris finished the session top ahead of his teammate Piastri and Red Bull’s Perez.

Results

1. Lando Norris
2. Oscar Piastri
3. Sergio Perez
4. Nico Hulkenberg
5. Charles Leclerc
6. Lewis Hamilton
7. Max Verstappen
8. Carlos Sainz
9. Lance Stroll
10. George Russell
11. Fernando Alonso
12. Valtteri Bottas
13. Alex Albon
14. Pierre Gasly
15. Esteban Ocon
16. Yuki Tsunoda
17. Logan Sargeant
18. Zhou Guanyu
19. Daniel Ricciardo
20. Kevin Magnussen

Feature Image Credit: Glenn Dunbar/LAT Images