Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas formed the usual Mercedes one-two in second practice, and were followed by drivers from six different teams.
In punishingly hot conditions, with track temperatures nudging 50C, Hamilton set a 1’16.883 on his soft tyres to head the session, a tenth of a second off the best time seen in the cooler temperatures earlier in the day. Bottas was nearly three-tenths of a second behind, both Mercedes drivers running very slow laps to cool their soft rubber between runs.As in first practice, Max Verstappen was their closest challenger, though he was over eight-tenths of a second slower. The Red Bull driver led a six-car string behind the Mercedes pair, beginning with his former team mate Daniel Ricciardo’s Renault a tenth of a second behind.
There was a bigger gap back to the next car which, surprisingly, belonged to Romain Grosjean. Sixth place in the first session had been a strong result for the Haas driver, but he went one better later in the day.
The VF-10 apparently thrived in the hotter weather, so much so that the Ferrari customer pipped Charles Leclerc in the works team’s fastest car by a hundredth of a second. However Grosjean reported a loss of power near the end of the session.
Carlos Sainz Jnr continued the run of different cars in his McLaren, after being warned by race control to stop using the old section of track at the end of the lap to bypass the chicane. The quickest Racing Point belonged to Sergio Perez in eighth place.
Behind Esteban Ocon’s Renault, Pierre Gasly made it eight different cars in the top 10, though was unhappy with his team’s attempts to arrange the positioning of their cars on the track. The middle of the pack was extremely close: Less than four-tenths of a second covered fifth to 14th.
The two teams which didn’t get a car in the top 10 were Alfa Romeo and Williams, the latter occupying the bottom two places, with George Russell last after sitting out the morning session.
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| Pos. | No. | Driver | Car | Best lap | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’16.883 | 37 | |
| 2 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1’17.170 | 0.287 | 38 |
| 3 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda | 1’17.704 | 0.821 | 33 |
| 4 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | 1’17.868 | 0.985 | 34 |
| 5 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas-Ferrari | 1’18.133 | 1.250 | 29 |
| 6 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1’18.147 | 1.264 | 35 |
| 7 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | McLaren-Renault | 1’18.214 | 1.331 | 33 |
| 8 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Racing Point-Mercedes | 1’18.293 | 1.410 | 39 |
| 9 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Renault | 1’18.303 | 1.420 | 40 |
| 10 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri-Honda | 1’18.312 | 1.429 | 40 |
| 11 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point-Mercedes | 1’18.357 | 1.474 | 39 |
| 12 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1’18.404 | 1.521 | 36 |
| 13 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Red Bull-Honda | 1’18.491 | 1.608 | 35 |
| 14 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Renault | 1’18.506 | 1.623 | 38 |
| 15 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | AlphaTauri-Honda | 1’18.642 | 1.759 | 39 |
| 16 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 1’18.761 | 1.878 | 36 |
| 17 | 7 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’18.900 | 2.017 | 42 |
| 18 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’18.964 | 2.081 | 40 |
| 19 | 6 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams-Mercedes | 1’19.155 | 2.272 | 32 |
| 20 | 63 | George Russell | Williams-Mercedes | 1’19.391 | 2.508 | 38 |
Second practice visual gaps
Lewis Hamilton – 1’16.883
+0.287 Valtteri Bottas – 1’17.170
+0.821 Max Verstappen – 1’17.704
+0.985 Daniel Ricciardo – 1’17.868
+1.250 Romain Grosjean – 1’18.133
+1.264 Charles Leclerc – 1’18.147
+1.331 Carlos Sainz Jnr – 1’18.214
+1.410 Sergio Perez – 1’18.293
+1.420 Esteban Ocon – 1’18.303
+1.429 Pierre Gasly – 1’18.312
+1.474 Lance Stroll – 1’18.357
+1.521 Sebastian Vettel – 1’18.404
+1.608 Alexander Albon – 1’18.491
+1.623 Lando Norris – 1’18.506
+1.759 Daniil Kvyat – 1’18.642
+1.878 Kevin Magnussen – 1’18.761
+2.017 Kimi Raikkonen – 1’18.900
+2.081 Antonio Giovinazzi – 1’18.964
+2.272 Nicholas Latifi – 1’19.155
+2.508 George Russell – 1’19.391
Drivers more then ten seconds off the pace omitted.
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2020 Spanish Grand Prix
- 2020 Spanish Grand Prix Star Performers
- Hamilton’s record podium, Raikkonen’s record mileage
- F1 teams welcome ban on testing at new tracks for 2020
- Perez felt fit enough to return earlier – Szafnauer
- Electrical failure cost Leclerc fourth place, say Ferrari
ColdFly (@)
14th August 2020, 15:39
This was the best FP2 session by far!
And this only because Nico Rosberg was commentating with Sky (and luckily I didn’t pick another channel).
His knowledge and insights were great for any real F1 fan.
bob (@riptide)
14th August 2020, 16:04
Not a fan of Nico usually, but you have to admire the way he bit his tongue for at least half hour before he had enough of crofts ill informed nonsense and had to say something.
ColdFly (@)
14th August 2020, 17:00
Indeed that annoying Crofty guy.
Also love the contributions by Karun Chandhok (fp1), and to a lesser extend (more dated) Martin Brundle.
But that Crofty nonsense is the reason I normally listed to either the team radio, FX, or Spanish/Dutch channel (they don’t commentate during FP).
@riptide
Will Bryan (@willbryan)
14th August 2020, 18:05
Crofty really is insufferable, I’m glad others agree. In FP1 he was getting all irate with the viewers for blasting his nonsense ideas for format changes. Can’t stand him
Jimmi Cynic (@jimmi-cynic)
14th August 2020, 21:14
+1. Crofty is best suited to twitter. Where he can ignored more effectively.
ads
14th August 2020, 16:55
Nico was great shame “crofty” was there to ruin it for everybody. I could have listened to brundle and rosberg all day. It would have been even better without the “crofty” stand up routine
Robbie (@robbie)
14th August 2020, 17:13
Haven’t seen it yet but looking forward to it now. This wouldn’t be the first time Nico has had some interesting comments from the inside as it were on previous commentaries with Sky.
Balue (@balue)
14th August 2020, 19:59
+1
Dom (@3dom)
14th August 2020, 22:42
Rosberg’s insights were great. Enjoyed his input into how he’d go about managing his tyres, and also about getting around the mini-splits in the pits
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
14th August 2020, 15:40
Haas and Grosjean the quickest with the Ferrari engine. But then something goes wrong with the car with 10 minutes left. That engine can’t allow the car to look decent for long!
Chaitanya
14th August 2020, 15:42
With or without party mode that gap is ominous.
Chaitanya
14th August 2020, 15:43
Also gap between Albon and Verstappen though.
Applebook
14th August 2020, 15:54
Unfortunately, maybe time for Gasly to be recalled. Like Albon a lot, but he’s in over his head and could use a full year or two at Alpha.
Ju88sy (@ju88sy)
14th August 2020, 16:38
Red Bull seem to have lost more than half a second in the second car. Ricciardo could at least keep Verstappen honest. Albon and his new (returning old-hand) engineer really need to get to the bottom of his poor Saturday form, while Verstappen seems to be outperforming the car Albon is the exact reverse.
Tom
14th August 2020, 16:53
I think it’s his form in general @ju88sy rather than his Saturday form. People seem to comment that his race pace is impressive, but it’s really not. That RedBull was the best car last Sunday and for him to only finish P5 is very poor. Would have been P6 without an unlucky stop from Hulkenberg too. Sure, he’s quicker than the cars around him, but while he’s scrapping over P10 his team mate is fighting the Mercedes at the front.
He’s never close in qualifying ( always 0.5 or more) and then he takes ages to make progress in the race. His moves almost always seem too risky, yet he’s surprised when contact is made with another driver. Going around the outside while on the grass might look impressive, but it proves he’s learnt nothing from his incidents in the past. RedBull just can’t afford a driver who’s p13 while his team mate is 3rd and trying to put pressure on Mercedes.
If Albon was as strong as Max then RedBull could really mix things up with strategy most weekends. The fact he’s not there to help take points off Hamilton and Bottas also makes Verstappens Championship chances much less.
Robbie (@robbie)
14th August 2020, 17:17
To be fair DR had way more experience when he partnered Max than AA has. As well, Horner said last weekend that it was Saturdays they needed to sort out for AA and some of that is that the car is more difficult on light fuel loads like for quali. Horner is pleased with AA’s Sunday pace, and so it is Saturdays they need to sort and that isn’t just going to happen with the snap of the fingers.
DeanR
14th August 2020, 18:50
One win and everyone gets excited. It’s the same every year but we know RB only ever win in unusual circumstances… high altitude/high tyre pressures/high heat. Max has zero chance at the WDC with Albons support or not. I get it… you want max to be WDC but he’s never been in with a sniff. Why would that change after one win ? (9 in total)
bosyber (@bosyber)
14th August 2020, 15:43
Will there be an article later on analyzing the long runs? To my eye Hamilton was pretty consistent on the mediums, but Verstappen did pretty well on them too. The softs seemed to last relatively decent as well, while the hard tyres were largely disliked – ‘running on ice’ – by whoever ran them.
dan
14th August 2020, 15:47
Rememember when people said get Ocon in the Merc? It was such a disservice to Hamilton and even Bottas. Ocon was never way up the road vs Perez and Perez would not have a hope of beating Hamilton. And now Ric is beating him very convincingly. Just wish Ric who imo is better than Seb got the Ferrari drive, Sainz has no raw qually speed. Lost to a rookie last yr and is 4/1 down this year. Leclerc will really beat Sainz very badly. The amount of people that genuinely wanted Ocon in the Merc was unreal lol.
dan
14th August 2020, 15:48
Rememember when people said get Ocon in the Merc? It was such a disservice to Hamilton and even Bottas. Ocon was never way up the road vs Perez and Perez would not have a hope of beating Hamilton. And now Ric is beating him very convincingly. Just wish Ric who imo is better than Seb got the Ferrari drive, Sainz has no raw qually speed. Lost to a rookie last yr and is 4/1 down this year. Leclerc will really beat Sainz very badly. The amount of people that genuinely wanted Ocon in the Merc was unreal lol.
Kribana (@krichelle)
14th August 2020, 15:49
Don’t tell me that in these hot temperatures, the hard tyre will not be a viable race tyre.
Adam (@rocketpanda)
14th August 2020, 15:53
Do hope that the teams are stocking up on blue shells.
Dan Rooke (@geekzilla9000)
14th August 2020, 16:19
Rockgod (@rockgod)
14th August 2020, 21:38
You want it or not Vettel is going to give it to you :-)
ColdFly (@)
14th August 2020, 15:54
I understand that party mode has been banned from this weekend in Barcelona.
https://english.elpais.com/society/2020-08-14/spanish-health-minister-announces-closure-of-nightclubs-bars-in-bid-to-slow-coronavirus-spread.html
Jere (@jerejj)
14th August 2020, 18:30
@coldfly I see what you did there.
Green Flag (@greenflag)
14th August 2020, 22:31
Not even a masked ball?
Prvn
14th August 2020, 16:21
After first 2 cars, the close field will really produce great race.. and that’s why everyone is fear by pitting and rejoining in this close field
baasbas
14th August 2020, 16:27
Can’t help but laugh at this paragraph
Keith Campbell (@keithedin)
14th August 2020, 16:36
Man, the P4-P14 championship this season is fascinating. Can’t remember a time when so many different teams were all consistently within a few tenths of each other in one lap pace – where the difference between a great lap and a poor one in qualifying could be up to 10 or more grid places.
Ewok
15th August 2020, 4:52
if Mercedes would just leave the sport we would have had great championships for the hybrid era instead of 2 horse races every year….
obster
14th August 2020, 18:23
Midfield rules!
ADUB SMALLBLOCK (@waptraveler)
14th August 2020, 22:41
I have to echo a lot of earlier comments about Nico today. Not his biggest fan, but his turn-by-turn description of where to attack, where to protect the tires and why was very entertaining!
Dom (@3dom)
14th August 2020, 22:47
Yeah really enjoyed that part too @waptraveler