Retour sur l’édito : F1 Results Second Free Practice 2023 Spanish GP (FP2)

Event: Spanish Grand Prix
Track: Catalunya Circuit

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR23, with test equipment attached during the 2023 Spanish GP at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Friday

Weather: dry  24°C
Tarmac: dry  37°C
Humidity: 53%
Wind: 2 km/h SW
Pressure: 998 bar

After an intriguing morning session at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, the Formula 1 teams regrouped for the second free practice session of the 2023 Spanish F1 Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen once again stamped his authority by topping the timesheets. The Dutchman showed immense pace and mastery, leading both sessions, with Alonso trailing him as the closest challenger. Verstappen’s consistent form has marked him as the man to beat, coming off the back of two victories and leading the championship.

Red Bull: The Benchmark

Verstappen’s car, the RB19, emerged as the dominant force of the day. The Red Bull ace took the chequered flag with the fastest lap of 1m 13.907s on medium tyres, putting a gap of three tenths to Charles Leclerc, who was second quickest with his Ferrari on softs.

Meanwhile, the sister Red Bull of Sergio Perez ended the day fourth, demonstrating a substantial improvement from FP1 and making Red Bull the team to chase in the Spanish Grand Prix.

The top 10 at the halfway mark were:

1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull (S) – 1:13.907
2. Nico Hülkenberg, Haas (S) +0.270
3. Esteban Ocon, Alpine (S) +0.335
4. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari (S) +0.339
5. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari (S) +0.367
6. George Russell, Mercedes (S) +0.485
7. Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo (S) +0.541
8. Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri (S) +0.550
9. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes (S) +0.642
10. Guanyu Zhou, Alfa Romeo (S) +0.678

Mercedes’ Struggles Continue

Mercedes, which was curiously off the pace in FP1, didn’t manage to arrest their slide in the second session either. George Russell and Lewis Hamilton complained of issues with their W14s, particularly at the final corner where the cars seemed to struggle with increased bounce due to the higher speeds. Williams, running with the Mercedes power unit, also reported struggles, with their cars at the tail end of the grid in both FP1 and FP2.

Notable Performances

Other significant performances came from Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Ocon, who ended the session third and fifth, respectively. In particular, Hulkenberg’s effort was commendable, putting in a solid lap that placed him just 0.270s behind Verstappen. On the other hand, Alpine’s Ocon also showed impressive form, continuing his run of good performances this season.

The Dark Horses

Ferrari, while struggling with their SF23s’ handling, saw Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finish in sixth and seventh positions. Their car showed noticeable wobble under braking, and the team will be keen to address these issues overnight.

On race pace, the Aston Martin seemed much closer to the Red Bull, which could bode well for them on race day. But over one lap, it was still Verstappen who had a comfortable margin over the field.

Wrapping Up

As we wrap up Friday’s action, we saw some prototypes of the new hard tyre from Pirelli in action. This compound could be introduced later in the season to cope with the increased speeds of the 2023 cars.

Also, there are some murmurs about the weather, with potential for some rain across the weekend that could throw in an element of unpredictability.

Last year the quickest lap time of FP2 was a 1:19,670 min, driven by Charles Leclerc with the Ferrari F1-75.

Stay tuned for more updates from the paddock and insights as we prepare for the qualifying session tomorrow.

FP2 Times Table 2023 Spanish GP

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