F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Ferrari remains ahead in FP2 as Leclerc takes over

Ferrari sustained its advantage in the second free practice session of the day at Spa, with Charles Leclerc relaying Sebastian Vettel at the top of the timesheet.

Leclerc's fastest lap was 0.630s clear of his teammate and 0.846s faster that third-placed man Valtteri Bottas. Lewis Hamilton was spared any issues but clocked in fourth.

Racing Point's Sergio Perez best effort warranted a spot among the top-five but their was drama for the Mexican at the end of the session when he pulled off the track after encountering what appeared to be a major engine issue.

The start of FP2 saw George Russell reclaim possession of his Williams and among the first drivers to spring into action.

Ferrari was quick to pick up where it had left off earlier in the day, with Vettel and then Leclerc leading the charge, with both drivers logically running the medium compound in the early stages of the session.

Verstappen's first effort of the afternoon allowed him to slot in behind Leclerc, with the Dutchman followed by Hamilton and Bottas who also jumped ahead of Vettel.

But when the German reverted to the soft tyre, he popped to the top with a 1m44.753s that edged his teammate by 0.216s.

A productive run by Racing Point's Sergio Perez briefly put the Mexican third until Hamilton and Bottas picked up the pace.

However, Leclerc also dialed in some extra speed and overhauled Vettel by over six tenths to re-establish a Scuderia 1-2 at the session's half-way mark, followed by a Mercedes 3-4, Perez and Verstappen, who was heard complaining of a power issue;

Red Bull's Alex Albon appeared to take it easy following his impressive baptism of fire in FP1, the British-Thai racer running well behind both Racing Point drivers and Ricciardo in the top-ten.

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Michael Delaney

Recent Posts

Audi progress not to be judged until ‘the end of the year’ - McNish

Audi’s 2026 Formula 1 project is already under the microscope, but racing director Allan McNish…

29 minutes ago

Verstappen set for second row start at Nürburgring 24 Hours

Max Verstappen will launch his long-awaited Nürburgring 24 Hours debut from the second row of…

15 hours ago

Cadillac's Towriss rejects backmarker label: ‘You don’t know much about F1'

Cadillac F1’s arrival on the grid in 2026 has been anything but quiet, and according…

17 hours ago

Alpine adds former FIA aero chief to F1 technical structure

Alpine has strengthened its growing 2026 Formula 1 project by officially welcoming former FIA head…

18 hours ago

When a Williams found its way on to the grid of the Indy 500

The 65th running of the Indy 500 held back in 1981 saw an interesting and…

20 hours ago

Ralf Schumacher: Life in F1 as Michael’s brother often 'unpleasant'

Ralf Schumacher has opened up about the emotional strain he experienced during his F1 career,…

21 hours ago