After Kimi Raikkonen set the early pace for Ferrari in FP1, Formula 1 returned for the second practice session of the Belgian Grand Prix. In second practice, teams began testing the other tyre compounds that are available to them for this weekend in long distance running, as well as conducting some qualifying runs in the latter stages.
Lewis Hamilton tops Belgian Grand Prix FP2
In FP2, Mercedes switched to running on the ultrasoft and supersoft tyre after primarily driving on the softs in FP1. Ferrari also followed suite, splitting Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel on the soft and supersoft tyre to get a rough idea of pace and durability on the slower rubber.
Early on in the session, Haas F1 encountered an unusual problem with DRS on both of the cars of Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen, with the flap on the rear wing failing to close in braking zones and when deactivated by the driver behind the wheel.
With a looming threat of rain, teams began conducting qualifying simulations halfway through the session, fitting the ultrasofts to their cars. With 30 minutes remaining of the session, it then began to rain lightly out on track. With the rain set to get heavier later in the session, a number of teams stopped running to prevent being caught out in a downpour on dry weather tyres and also because of the lack of data that would be gathered on a track with mixed conditions and deteriorating tyre temperatures.
When the checkered flag waved at the end of the session, Lewis Hamilton emerged as the fastest man out on track, setting a best time of a 1:44.753, 0.262 seconds ahead of Kimi Raikkonen while Valtteri Bottas rounded out the top three, almost half a second down.
Results from Practice 2 of the Belgian Grand Prix:
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:44.753
- Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1:45.015
- Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, 1:45.180
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1:45.225
- Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1:45.235
- Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing, 1:46.072
- Nico Hulkenberg, Renault, 1:46.441
- Esteban Ocon, Force India, 1:46.473
- Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso, 1:46.561
- Jolyon Palmer, Renault, 1:46.670
- Fernando Alonso, McLaren, 1:46.743
- Sergio Perez, Force India, 1:46.984
- Romian Grosjean, Haas F1, 1:47.285
- Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren, 1:47.303
- Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, 1:47.450
- Kevin Magnussen, Haas F1, 1:47.556
- Lance Stroll, Williams, 1:47.861
- Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 1:49.214
- Pascal Wehrlein, Sauber, 1:49.725
- Felipe Massa, Williams, No time
