F1 | Turkish GP | FP2 Report: Mercedes and Leclerc on top
Hamilton leads the second, windier session of the day, closely followed by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, while Verstappen couldn’t improve further than P5.
Mercedes strikes again as Lewis Hamilton tops the second free practice session of the day, and Valtteri Bottas slots in P2. Second faster was Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, with him and Hamilton the only drivers to go consistently under the 1.24.
It wasn't Max Verstappen's session, as he struggled in P5 after this morning's P3 , bringing up vibrations and many different issues, while his teammate Sergio Perez was quite satisfied with his car, ending in P4.
Our full classification from second practice!
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 8, 2021
Hamilton leads the way, but Leclerc isn't far behind 👀#TurkishGP 🇹🇷 #F1 pic.twitter.com/cHEIUuxRNA
First out on track were the Haas, followed by both Alfa Romeo and the Ferrari. The wind blows significantly harder than in the morning session, as some drivers pointed out.
The first lap signed by Verstappen wasn't that fast, as he jumped in P5 after his first signed lap, leaving Charles Leclerc on top with a 1'25'021 on mediums, later improved to 1.24.102. The Dutch wasn't completely satisfied with his car, pointing out "weird snaps" mid-corner.
A busy Friday continues 📝 FP2 is green 💪 #TurkishGP 🇹🇷 pic.twitter.com/d8nF9wopk9
— Red Bull Racing Honda (@redbullracing) October 8, 2021
Ten minutes in the session, Russian pole man Lando Norris signed the second fastest lap on hards, but his time was quickly improved by both Mercedes drivers, with Leclerc holding on to the lead and all the drivers returning to their boxes.
#Charles16 topping the timings on medium tyres 🟡
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) October 8, 2021
1:25.021#FP2 #TurkishGP pic.twitter.com/JYL5wlmtE9
At 14:25 Lewis Hamilton went fastest in 1.23.840, going purple in the first sector but a getting caught up in traffic in the second one. Both the Red Bull drivers as well, improved their times, slotting in P4 and P5 while sporting their special white liveries.
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) October 8, 2021
Verstappen only managed P5, as he made a mistake while exiting Turn 1 during his fast lap, and Raikkonen had to pit because of a leakage in the drinking system.
With twenty minutes left in the session, Alpine's Fernando Alonso moved up to P6, ahead of Lando Norris. Both AlphaTauri drivers and Giovinazzi complete the top ten, even though Tsunoda had Turn 9 issues in his flying lap.
Fifteen minutes to go, Alonso's teammate Esteban Ocon and Norris improve their times, moving up to P8 and P6 respectively, while other drivers like Ferrari's Carlos Sainz and Daniel Ricciardo that have been focused on race simulations since the beginning of the session are joined by the top three.
Gasly spins off and flat-spots his tyres out of Turn 6
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 8, 2021
He's sat in P9 as things stand#TurkishGP 🇹🇷 #F1 pic.twitter.com/v7yUxHLzIt
The yellow flag was brought out twice shortly, the first time minutes in the session because Williams's Nicholas Latifi spun at Turn 9, while Lewis Hamilton lamented issues with his front right tyre, and another one towards the end of the session as Gasly spun at Turn 5. Latifi spun again in the same spot at the end of the session.
While the drivers were doing racing start simulations, Ocon's car stalled while he was waiting his turn and had to be stopped.
