The second (and last) free practice session of the Emilia Romagna GP It was taken by a driver who, except for surprise, will not be fighting for victory in any of the two races that are going to take place this weekend.
George Russell he gave the best of himself and the soft tires to get the best time in the session dedicated to, basically, tuning the cars and testing the resistance of the different types of tires for this Saturday’s race. Thus, many dedicated the session to testing with medium tires (thinking about Sunday) and also with the soft ones, which will eventually be the ones used in the afternoon.
Proof that no one pressed was that neither charles leclerc did a fast lap (he was 3rd at almost three tenths) or Max Verstappen (almost a second) was up. But something did make it clear: there will be a lot of equality above.
As for Alpine, good news: Fernando Alonso he was (relatively) competitive, including the first sector record and good pace in the runs he found on both types of tyres. The 5th place (with which he will also start in the sprint) gives good hope.
Things were much worse at McLaren. With engine problems for Daniel Ricciardowhich did not even go out to shoot, and lando norris Leaving in the final moments to do little more than an installation lap to confirm that everything is in place, the Woking men are having a very difficult weekend. Nor did Valtteri Bottas shoot with the Alfa Romeo.
Free Time Table 2 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix
Photos: Mercedes-AMG F1