After topping the timesheet in FP1, Lando Norris continued to set the pace in the second session, beating McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri by 0.331 seconds to as the papaya team claimed a one-two finish ahead of Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez. Championship leader Max Verstappen ended the session in seventh place.
At the start of the session it was Verstappen who set the pace on Medium tyres with the Dutchman posting a lap of 1:27.831. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton got closest to the champion but both were more than two tenths off the Red Bull driver.
Verstappen then made the switch to Soft tyres and posted a lap of 1m27.233s.
Mercedes’ George Russell was still running on Mediums and he managed to get to within three tenths of Verstappen’s lap, before Leclerc, on Softs, dislodged Verstappen. The Monegasque driver had almost gone off at Maggotts/Becketts , however, and the error there allowed Haas’ Nico Hülkenberg to steal top spot with a lap of 1:26.990.
Piastri then stole P1 0.110 ahead of the German but the Australian driver was them bested by team-mate Norris who posted a lap of 1:26.549 to seal P1. Pérez then popped up with a strong lap of 1:26.983 to claim P3. The Mexican’s lap left him 0.434 off Norris but over well over two tenths clear of team-mate Verstappen who slipped to seventh behind fourth-placed Hülkenberg, Leclerc in P5 and Lewis Hamilton.
Drivers were being told that rain was imminent and with that in mind the Soft tyre running came to an end as teams switched to long runs and information gathering. The timesheet grew static at that point and when the rain came with five minutes remaining, it froze completely.
With Verstappen’s early soft time still good enough for seventh, eighth place went to Sainz, with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll ninth ahead of Russell.
2024 FIA Formula 1 British Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
1 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:26.549 26 245.035
2 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:26.880 0.331 24 244.102
3 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:26.983 0.434 25 243.813
4 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 1:26.990 0.441 26 243.793
5 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:27.150 0.601 27 243.345
6 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:27.202 0.653 26 243.200
7 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:27.233 0.684 21 243.114
8 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:27.249 0.700 31 243.069
9 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:27.274 0.725 21 243.000
10 George Russell Mercedes 1:27.294 0.745 26 242.944
11 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:27.372 0.823 25 242.727
12 Valtteri Bottas Sauber/Ferrari 1:27.381 0.832 16 242.702
13 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:27.645 1.096 26 241.971
14 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1:27.732 1.183 24 241.731
15 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:27.743 1.194 19 241.701
16 Yuki Tsunoda RB/Honda RBPT 1:27.745 1.196 26 241.695
17 Logan Sargeant Williams/Mercedes 1:27.809 1.260 24 241.519
18 Zhou Guanyu Sauber/Ferrari 1:27.813 1.264 19 241.508
19 Daniel Ricciardo RB/Honda RBPT 1:27.916 1.367 25 241.225
20 20 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1:28.122 1.573 20 240.661
