Already in a more conventional session, FP2 of the Belgian GP made clear the position of Verstappen and Red Bull as favourites, which adds even more excitement to the penalty that will see the Dutchman start from the back of the grid.
Especially in the second sector, the champion had no rival, and left the Ferraris more than eight tenths behind with Leclerc , also suspended, second. Sainz ‘s fastest lap was not perfect and the Madrid native, who until then seemed the fittest Ferrari, could only finish fifth.
They slipped ahead, showing great competition in the midfield and willing to take advantage of the penalties of the favourites, a Lando Norris who put McLaren third and a Lance Stroll who left Aston Martin fourth.
In fact, the top seven positions were taken by drivers from up to six different teams, and Fernando Alonso got into the Mercedes, less than a tenth behind Lewis Hamilton and less than a tenth ahead of George Russell.
The second part of the session was a test of long runs testing race pace, but in the last quarter of an hour more water fell and the rain was about to cause havoc.
Hamilton came close to losing control of the Mercedes at Eau Rouge at almost 300km/h, and Norris spun off shortly after at Les Combes, albeit at low speed. Mick Schumacher also ended up in the gravel at Turn 7, and almost simultaneously both Alonso and Alexander Albon went wide of Les Combes. In that situation, everyone understood that the risk was greater than the reward and the track emptied to leave the last few minutes almost without activity.
F1 Belgian GP 2022 FP2 Free Practice 2 Results
(Click on ‘see results’ to enjoy the full table)
| Cla | Pilot | laps | Weather | Difference | Interval | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Max Verstappen |
 |
20 | 1’45.507 | ||
| 2 |  Charles Leclerc |
 |
21 | 1’46.369 | 0.862 | 0.862 |
| 3 |  Lando Norris |
 |
17 | 1’46.589 | 1.082 | 0.220 |
| 4 |  Lance Stroll |
 |
16 | 1’46.635 | 1.128 | 0.046 |
| 5 |  Carlos Sainz Jr. |
|
twenty | 1,46,649 | 1,142 | 0.014 |
| 6 | Lewis Hamilton |
 |
18 | 1’46.893 | 1.386 | 0.244 |
| 7 | Fernando Alonso |
 |
19 | 1’46.975 | 1.468 | 0.082 |
| 8 | George Russell |
 |
22 | 1’47.042 | 1.535 | 0.067 |
| 9 |  Daniel Ricciardo |
 |
18 | 1’47.255 | 1.748 | 0.213 |
| 10 |  Sergio Perez |
 |
fifteen | 1,47,346 | 1,839 | 0.091 |
| see results | ||||||
Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo By: Andy Hone/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Foto de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Photo de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo By: Andy Hone/Motorsport Images
Photo de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
F1 Belgian GP 2022 FP2 Recap Free Practice 2
With a wet track but no rain, everyone took to the track on dry tires at the start of FP2. The conditions were difficult and Leclerc, with mediums, set himself an important crash at Les Combes after which, however, he was able to continue doing competitive laps. The traffic generated several moments of tension and anger when several drivers were interrupted (including Sainz, by Vettel), and Verstappen quickly took the lead.
The first ten minutes had not yet been completed when Sainz, with an aggressive lap, took first place, improving the Dutchman’s mark by three tenths, also with mediums. The man from Madrid did “some rally” stepping on a gravel run-off on the next lap, while Max had a helmet plate stuck to the rear suspension of his car. Despite the setback, the champion regained first place with a 1:46.929 that left more than four tenths to a Sainz who also had a slight start after a blockage at turn 5 (Les Combes).
Verstappen lowered his time further and Hamilton locked tires at Turn 1, staying in 10th place on hard, just behind Alonso (just 0.005s).
After that first attack, calm came and almost everyone returned to the pits, leaving the table unchanged for the next few minutes and the track practically silent.
There were 35 minutes left when, on softs, Russell moved up to fourth and Albon to third. The favorites came out and Sainz took the lead for a few moments, before Verstappen, especially flying in the second sector, made the best time of the weekend to leave everyone with a face of circumstances, beating Leclerc by eight tenths and more than a second to Sainz.
The Spanish lap was not good, and in fact Lando Norris and Lance Stroll slipped ahead. Alonso’s lap put him seventh, splitting the two Mercedes with Hamilton sixth and Russell seventh.
Gasly suffered a gravel excursion at Turn 8 as the first drops of rain seemed to begin to fall. After that, the rain began to intensify, although there were areas where nothing fell and the drivers stayed on dry tires. After several scares that fortunately did not get worse, little by little the boxes began to fill up until the end of the second session.
The Aston Martins broke the silence with three minutes to go and, at the last moment and with no time left for a lap, many drivers did the same to rehearse starts.
Next, this Saturday’s FP3 before qualifying.
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