FP2: Verstappen fastest, Ricciardo crashes hard

Published on 10 Jul 2020 16:35

By: Fergal Walsh

Max Verstappen has topped the second practice session from the Red Bull Ring, which saw Daniel Ricciardo make heavy contact with the barriers.

As he rounded the penultimate corner, the Australian lost the rear of the car and slid into the barriers, and was seen limping as he emerged from his wrecked R.S. 20.

However, he was cleared by the medical staff on site at the track and returned to the garage to see out the session.

Verstappen's fastest lap was under half a tenth of a second faster than Valtteri Bottas, as teams remain cautious regarding potential rain for Saturday afternoon.

Tomorrow's qualifying session is expected to be run in the rain, however if it is called off and F1 is unable to find a suitable slot to host the session on Sunday morning, the results from FP2 will form Sunday's grid.

The Racing Point duo of Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll were third and fourth respectively, with three and a half tenths separating the pair.

Carlos Sainz was fifth ahead of an unhappy Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes reported that the six-time world champion was not satisfied with his car during the session.

Alexander Albon endured a frustrating session, first spinning at Turn 3 before another high-speed spin at Turn 6, which saw him skate through the gravel and flat spot all four tyres.

Lando Norris was eighth while the first Ferrari-powered car was in ninth, with Charles Leclerc filling the slot. Esteban Ocon rounded out the top ten.

Sebastian Vettel struggled throughout the session and had a number of laps deleted for exceeding track limits - the four-time world champion was only 16th fastest at the chequered flag.

George Russell and Antonio Giovinazzi returned to their cars for the session after reserve drivers took over this morning.