Max ambitious ahead of Saturday: "Tomorrow even faster"

Published on 08 July 2016 by Stefan Meens

Max Verstappen finished the second free practice session to the British Grand Prix in third. The Red Bull Racing driver's fastest lap (1:32.286) was only beaten by Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and RBR team mate Daniel Ricciardo. Almost all teams posted their fastest times on the fastest compound provided this weekend by Pirelli, the soft tyres. With the Red Bull showing good pace, it therefore appears the Milton Keynes based outfit poses the biggest thread to Mercedes.

“We'll give it our best to further improve the set-up tomorrow”, explained Max after FP2. “It's looking good. We can be happy that we're second behind Mercedes; we weren't far off the pace. Both our long and short runs looked good too”, said Max who is delighted to have the edge over the Ferraris thus far. “You never know what they can do on Saturday so we'll try to go quicker tomorrow.”

Kimi Raikkonen is the first driver so set the pace in the second Friday session. The Finn, who announced he will also drive for Scuderia Ferrari in 2017, opens his account with a 1:34.3 on the hard compound. Soon after, Max topples his time with a 1:33.8 on the medium compound. Lewis Hamilton counters by putting Mercedes back on top.

His team mate, Nico Rosberg, loses valuable track time. The German's Mercedes is troubled by a water leak. The repairs take half an hour but upon starting the engine, the car has developed a new issue, which results in Rosberg not participating in FP2.

Daniil Kvyat does go out on track but loses his Scuderia Toro Rosso turning on to the main straight. With a damaged wing, the Russian puts a dent in his Friday's running.

Sebastian Vettel is one of the first front runners to bolt on the soft Pirellis. He makes the most of the grip they provide by lapping almost a second quicker than Hamilton's fastest time on the mediums. However, the world champion reclaims top spot after he also switches to the faster tyre (1:31.660).

Max also heads out on the soft compound. His 1:32.286 grants him third, six tenths behind Hamilton and two trailing Ricciardo. In the closing stages of the session, the Red Bulls focus on long runs on the medium Pirellis posting encouraging lap times. 

British Grand Prix - Silverstone - Friday 8 July

RESULTS FREE PRACTICE 2

01 44 Lewis Hamilton      Mercedes                    1:31.660             36
02  3 Daniel Ricciardo    Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer   1:32.051   +0.391s   30
03 33 Max Verstappen      Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer   1:32.286   +0.626s   36
04  5 Sebastian Vettel    Ferrari                     1:32.570   +0.910s   40
05  7 Kimi Räikkönen      Ferrari                     1:32.736   +1.076s   38
06 14 Fernando Alonso     McLaren Honda               1:33.040   +1.380s   31
07 77 Valtteri Bottas     Williams Mercedes           1:33.493   +1.833s   38
08  8 Romain Grosjean     Haas Ferrari                1:33.614   +1.954s   32
09 22 Jenson Button       McLaren Honda               1:33.763   +2.103s   20
10 19 Felipe Massa        Williams Mercedes           1:33.801   +2.141s   29
11 55 Carlos Sainz        Toro Rosso Ferrari          1:33.840   +2.180s   27
12 21 Esteban Gutierrez   Haas Ferrari                1:34.000   +2.340s   32
13 26 Daniil Kvyat        Toro Rosso Ferrari          1:34.139   +2.479s   35
14 12 Felipe Nasr         Sauber Ferrari              1:34.154   +2.494s   25
15 27 Nico Hulkenberg     Force India Mercedes        1:34.321   +2.661s   35
16 11 Sergio Perez        Force India Mercedes        1:34.356   +2.696s   37
17 94 Pascal Wehrlein     MRT Mercedes                1:34.549   +2.889s   40
18 30 Jolyon Palmer       Renault                     1:34.610   +2.950s   41
19  9 Marcus Ericsson     Sauber Ferrari              1:34.722   +3.062s   36
20 20 Kevin Magnussen     Renault                     1:34.959   +3.299s   41
21 88 Rio Haryanto        MRT Mercedes                1:35.841   +4.181s   36

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