The second free practice session of the Spanish GP leaves a better taste in the mouth than the first: Alonso is second, just over a tenth behind Verstappen. Sainz, seventh.
Fernando Alonso finished Friday’s day at the Spanish Grand Prix in second position, 170 thousandths behind Max Verstappen, who once again set the best time on the asphalt of the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya. The difference between the two is very small, but we don’t know how much Red Bull is saving for Saturday and Sunday.
With a time of 1:13.907, Max Verstappen once again set the pace at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, the place where in 2016 he won his first victory in Formula 1 on his debut with the Red Bull team. The Dutch pilot, current leader of the World Championship, has surpassed Fernando Alonso by only 170 thousandths.
Alonso completed a masterful lap on his way out on soft tyres, setting the fastest time in the third sector of the Circuit de Montmeló. With this record, he confirmed himself as a candidate to once again be the second fastest driver of the weekend, but the bells cannot be launched so soon.
Teams like Ferrari or Mercedes could have run with conservative engine maps so as not to punish their engine on Friday. The best example of this is that Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz have ‘only’ been sixth and seventh, respectively, when they have brought improvements, and Nico Hülkenberg, with Haas (which is based on Ferrari) is in third position.
As for Mercedes, which has finished Free Practice 2 with George Russell in eighth position and Lewis Hamilton in eleventh, we have already seen other weekends, that this is the usual way to start the Grand Prix for them… but then they end up fighting in the ‘top 5’ on Saturdays and very close to the podium on Sundays.
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Another unknown is ‘Checo’ Pérez, who in this second test session has been fourth. The Mexican arrives in Barcelona after a horrible weekend in Monaco, in which he suffered an accident in qualifying and did not score points on Sunday. Here, all the eyes of the Red Bull box will be on him, as Alonso is also approaching him in the Drivers’ Championship.
The session was completed again without notable incidents, with a few drops at the end of Free Practice 2 that were not representative, but that show how unpredictable the weather can be both on Saturday and Sunday. As we saw in Monaco, a small downpour can turn the standings upside down.
Free Results 2 Spanish GP F1 2023
| Position | Pilot | Equipment | time/difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | max verstappen | Red Bull | 1:13.907 |
| 2nd | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +0.170 |
| 3rd | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | +0.270 |
| 4th | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | +0.312 |
| 5th | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | +0.335 |
| 6th | charles leclerc | Ferrari | +0.339 |
| 7th | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | +0.367 |
| 8th | George Russell | Mercedes | +0.485 |
| 9th | Valtteri Bottas | alfa romeo | +0.541 |
| 10th | Pierre Gasley | Alpine | +0.550 |
| 11th | lewis hamilton | Mercedes | +0.642 |
| 12th | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +0.676 |
| 13th | guanyu zhou | alfa romeo | +0.678 |
| 14th | Lando Norris | McLaren | +0.787 |
| 15th | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | +0.806 |
| 16th | nyck devries | AlphaTauri | +0.878 |
| 17th | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | +0.933 |
| 18th | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | +1,103 |
| 19th | alexander albon | williams | +1,149 |
| 20º | logan sergeant | williams | +1,508 |
The Formula 1 single-seaters will return to action on Saturday at 12:30 p.m., when Free Practice 3 of the Spanish GP will begin. The qualifying session will start at 4:00 p.m.