Red Bull were quickest again in second practice for the German Grand Prix, but as in the morning session Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes was close behind.
On a hot track, where temperatures peaked at 49C, lap times were around four tenths of a second quicker than in first practice. That was enough to topple Michael Schumacher’s 14-year-old track record, which Verstappen beat by two-tenths of a second.The Mercedes pair were the first to dip under Schumacher’s benchmark on their qualifying runs on the ultra-soft tyres. However a superb final sector by Verstappen – the area of the track where the Red Bull is particularly strong, edged him ahead of Hamilton by less than three-hundredths of a sector.
The Ferrari pair of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen completed the top five. Daniel Ricciardo did not do a qualifying simulation in his Red Bull as a power unit change penalty means he will start from the back of the grid.
The rest of the top 10 was much as it had been in the first session. The Haas pair were ‘best of the rest’ and led by Romain Grosjean again, and followed by Charles Leclerc’s Sauber and Nico Hulkenberg’s Renault. Ricciardo’s absence from the top 10 allowed Esteban Ocon’s Force India in, a few hundredths ahead of team mate Sergio Perez.
Stoffel Vandoorne was at the bottom of the times for the second session in a row after conducting further tests for McLaren. As in the first practice session the team said his session was “all going according to plan”.
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| Pos. | No. | Driver | Car | Best lap | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-TAG Heuer | 1’13.085 | 18 | |
| 2 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’13.111 | 0.026 | 39 |
| 3 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1’13.190 | 0.105 | 39 |
| 4 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1’13.310 | 0.225 | 46 |
| 5 | 7 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1’13.427 | 0.342 | 41 |
| 6 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas-Ferrari | 1’13.973 | 0.888 | 34 |
| 7 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 1’14.189 | 1.104 | 36 |
| 8 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’14.374 | 1.289 | 41 |
| 9 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 1’14.496 | 1.411 | 31 |
| 10 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Force India-Mercedes | 1’14.508 | 1.423 | 39 |
| 11 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Force India-Mercedes | 1’14.552 | 1.467 | 38 |
| 12 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Renault | 1’14.592 | 1.507 | 43 |
| 13 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull-TAG Heuer | 1’14.682 | 1.597 | 36 |
| 14 | 9 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’14.783 | 1.698 | 38 |
| 15 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso-Honda | 1’14.793 | 1.708 | 44 |
| 16 | 28 | Brendon Hartley | Toro Rosso-Honda | 1’14.830 | 1.745 | 45 |
| 17 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren-Renault | 1’14.836 | 1.751 | 38 |
| 18 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Williams-Mercedes | 1’15.269 | 2.184 | 36 |
| 19 | 35 | Sergey Sirotkin | Williams-Mercedes | 1’15.408 | 2.323 | 41 |
| 20 | 2 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren-Renault | 1’15.454 | 2.369 | 34 |
Second practice visual gaps
Max Verstappen – 1’13.085
+0.026 Lewis Hamilton – 1’13.111
+0.105 Valtteri Bottas – 1’13.190
+0.225 Sebastian Vettel – 1’13.310
+0.342 Kimi Raikkonen – 1’13.427
+0.888 Romain Grosjean – 1’13.973
+1.104 Kevin Magnussen – 1’14.189
+1.289 Charles Leclerc – 1’14.374
+1.411 Nico Hulkenberg – 1’14.496
+1.423 Esteban Ocon – 1’14.508
+1.467 Sergio Perez – 1’14.552
+1.507 Carlos Sainz Jnr – 1’14.592
+1.597 Daniel Ricciardo – 1’14.682
+1.698 Marcus Ericsson – 1’14.783
+1.708 Pierre Gasly – 1’14.793
+1.745 Brendon Hartley – 1’14.830
+1.751 Fernando Alonso – 1’14.836
+2.184 Lance Stroll – 1’15.269
+2.323 Sergey Sirotkin – 1’15.408
+2.369 Stoffel Vandoorne – 1’15.454
Drivers more then ten seconds off the pace omitted.
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2018 F1 season
- Honda’s jet division helped F1 engineers solve power unit problem
- McLaren Racing losses rise after Honda split
- Ricciardo: Baku “s***show” was Red Bull’s fault
- “Drive to Survive Episode 1: All to Play For” reviewed
- F1’s television and social media audiences rose last year
MrBoerns (@mrboerns)
20th July 2018, 15:35
You can really tell boullier was Holding back their Potential
ColdFly (@)
20th July 2018, 15:40
Will take a few days longer, @mrboerns.
Just realise how long it takes to find a title sponsor; getting the car right will even be longer.
dio
20th July 2018, 15:52
Dont respect the company, respect the people who work there. Respect us who read this independent blog.
Joao (@johnmilk)
20th July 2018, 16:02
at least they gave Stoffel all the fun work, and a hat of course, but not freddos today
eljueta (@eljueta)
20th July 2018, 16:32
Sick boern there @mrboerns
Niefer (@niefer)
20th July 2018, 15:41
Maybe a great Q is coming.
Jimothy
21st July 2018, 9:25
Hopefully, it would be great to see max on pole, he seems Quick
Kribana (@krichelle)
20th July 2018, 15:44
What does paint do to an f1 car? Mercedes were testing them today.
ColdFly (@)
20th July 2018, 15:55
flow vis/viz paint?
Make airFLOW VISable.
MacLeod (@macleod)
20th July 2018, 19:06
Making a car fast if it’s the paint on the car the green stuf is flow vis for testing. I know McLaren uses special paint which give them a -0.2 per lap which means they are even worse then everybody thought
erikje
20th July 2018, 19:44
At least they look fast in the garage.
Vettel fan 17 (@)
20th July 2018, 15:53
Does anyone know what tyres everyone was on?
ColdFly (@)
20th July 2018, 15:55
Pirelli
you’re welcome!
Joao (@johnmilk)
20th July 2018, 16:01
ba dum tss
Martijn (@)
20th July 2018, 16:12
Hahaha
Matthijs (@matthijs)
20th July 2018, 20:02
@coldfly Yeah, as if that’s very helpful…
@vettelfan17 They were on Pirelli P Zero slicks. There.
sumedh
20th July 2018, 16:00
Leclerc is consistently over 3-4 tenths over Marcus in every session. Here’s hoping for another great qualifying from him.
Marchionne, please please put him in the red car next year. Take a punt for once!
VR
20th July 2018, 16:00
That Leclerc guy is special.
Makana (@makana)
20th July 2018, 16:17
In the midfield, the Ferrari powered cars are ahead again… Big sign.
Baasbas
21st July 2018, 11:35
This…
Pratyush P (@pratyushp276)
20th July 2018, 16:39
Did anyone notice that Hartley was 6 kmph clear of the nearest Ferrari in the speed trap? Good signs for Red bull next year.
javier javier (@j3d89)
20th July 2018, 16:51
could be TR was running less aero?
NasiBoring (@nasiboring)
20th July 2018, 17:08
+1 Exactly my thoughts. I think you can not compare top speed and conclude that the highest speed means the most powerful engine. What counts in that regard imo is acceleration because as you said you don’t how much downforce they are running in comparison.
Patrick (@anunaki)
20th July 2018, 16:40
Hopefully Max can get on the 2nd row tomorrow. But I think he needs a mistake from one of the others to get there.
ia
20th July 2018, 17:12
No 2nd row for Max. Unless Mercedes or Ferrarri driver makes mistake. In Q Mercedes and Ferrari will use their party mode. Even Max doesn’t expect to be able to challenge the 2 other teams.
Geoff A.
20th July 2018, 18:29
Unless it’s wet, of course. ;-)
David West
21st July 2018, 10:13
What we’re long run paces like?
hamiledon
21st July 2018, 10:49
I would not wait for the next year, not even for next race.