Max fifth after FP2 in Spain: 'Normal day without any issues'

Published on 21 June 2024 by Misha van der Kroon

Max Verstappen ended the second free practice session for the Spanish Grand Prix in fifth place. In Barcelona, where Max took his first victory in 2016, he clocked a 1:13.5. Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time of the day with a 1:13.2. The top three was completed by Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris. The qualifying session for the Spanish GP will be held on Saturday at 4 p.m. Dutch time.

“We tried a few different set-ups in FP1, now we were trying to fine-tune a little bit. But at least the day itself was a bit more normal, without any issues. That was what we were hoping for. And now it is about optimising the car, but that is normal,” Max says after the session. About the updates that Red Bull brought to this weekend he says: “They are very small, nothing too big. But so far everything is feeling normal.”

The second free practice session starts with many drivers on the medium tyres. Almost the entire grid heads to the track on that compound to do the necessary laps on it. At the start of the training, Max is not satisfied with the car. He reports over the on-board radio that the car is understeering and is very unstable when exiting the corners. His fastest lap, a 1:14.4, puts him in fourth place. After the first 20 minutes, George Russell is topping the timesheets with a 1:14.0.

Within the first half hour of the session, the first drivers switch to the soft tyres. Sainz, who did not use the red compound in FP1, is the first to dive under the 1:14 with a 1:13.2. A little later, Lewis Hamilton improves the Spaniard’s time by 22 thousandths. Max also goes out on the softs, and in his first flying lap on that compound he has a purple first and third sector, but unfortunately loses a lot of time in the second sector. His time is 1:13.5, which is 0.240 seconds slower than Hamilton.

After the fast laps on the softs, many drivers stay out for a long run on that compound. Max takes a different approach. He switches to the medium tyres and puts in nine laps on that compound. He then switches back to the softs, on which he ends the session. In total, Verstappen drives 28 laps during the second training session of the day. Alexander Albon completed the most laps (33) when the checkered flag is waved. The fastest time of the Williams driver is good for the nineteenth place. Lewis Hamilton ends the training fastest with a 1:13.2. Sainz and Norris complete the top three. Max finishes in fifth, more then two tenths behind Hamilton.

Contest GP Spain: win a by Max Verstappen signed Verstappen.com Racing cap!

Results second free practice Spain: