Fernando Alonso proved that Aston Martin’s pace was not a fluked by grabbing the top spot in the second free practice. During the qualifying sims he was quicker than both Red Bulls and the lone Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.
Lance Stroll was the first one out on the medium tyres, which makes sense after he missed the test last week. Esteban Ocon was the first one the set a time on the soft compound, but that time was soon improved by Sainz who put a high 1:31 on the boards. Despite the issues with the timing graphics Leclerc was the next one on top. He also mentioned some clutch-issues,which seemed resolved later in the session.
Red Bull began their second practice on mediums, after Verstappen struggled in the first. Piastri almost hit Stroll when the former was having a drag race with an AlphaTauri when the latter stood still at the end of the main straight. After the first quarter of an hour the track became silent with Mercedes and Alpine having a small battle behing both Ferrari’s.
Sainz showed he still struggled with the balance during his qualifying simulation, while Stroll went to the top with 1:31.450. De Vries in the meantime was sent out early, almost hitting Norris in the pitlane, which was subsequently under investigation by the stewards. Fernando Alonso was then the first (and only one) to break the 1:31’s. Verstappen failed to beat the Spaniard’s time after a sloppy first sector, proving that the Aston Martin really has some pace.
Compatriot Sainz kicked off the long running that usually takes part in the second half of the practice.
Alonso and Verstappen proved to be evenly matched during the race sims with lap times in the 1:36 while Stroll remarkably told his team that his injury prevented him from changing his driving through turn 1 and 2.
Looking further down the field we see that both Alpine and Alfa Romeo are the true midfield teams while AlphaTauri and Williams are the true backmarkers at this moment. McLaren seemed to have bounced back a little in the person of Lando Norris, and Nico Hülkenberg surprised with a fifth place. Russell, Sainz, Piastri and Magnussen all struggled for different reasons, but the final standings show that the field looks quite bunched up and that qualifying will be a sensational session tomorrow.
