Can Hamilton sustain leadership throughout the weekend?
MONTMELO, Spain—On a day when the incidents at the Circuit de Catalunya were slight, Lewis Hamilton posted the quickest time in Friday’s Practice Two. His time of 1:13:284 was ahead of home-standing Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz. McLaren’s Lando Norris, who took the morning practice best lap, was third.
Hamilton and his teammate, George Russell, who finished in ninth, are driving a car with improvements, and those changes are yielding results.
Alpine is another team that has looked good recently, possibly the result of former team manager Flavio Briatore, who was promoted to advisor to the team. That upgrade might have given Pierre Gasly an incentive, as the Frenchman took fourth best time. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen finished in a disappointing fifth, complaining that the car had no grip and suffered from a lack of balance.
Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc finished in sixth in his Ferrari, while McLaren’s Oscar Piastri ended in eighth. Valtteri Bottas made an excellent improvement in his Sauber by taking the last top-ten position.
The weather is expected to be good for the rest of the weekend, and in a race with very little attrition, the race should be very interesting to attend and watch. Saturday’s qualifying session can be viewed on ESPN2 beginning at 10a Eastern time.
