Max third in second practice: 'We recovered well'

Published on 22 June 2018 by Stefan Meens

Max Verstappen clocked the third quickest time in the second free practice session of the French Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) was once again quickest ahead of Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo.

“I’m fairly happy”, says Max post-practice. “We lost a bit of time in the first session with an issue with one of the tyres. I’ve never driven here so you want as much track time as possible. However, we recovered well and we were able to try a lot of things.”

Nevertheless, there is still plenty of homework to be done, according to Max. “We need to understand the track better; what are the different lines and the differences between them. It’s also challenging to find the right balance between the three tyre choices. They’re very sensitive at this track and because of the heat it feels like every compound needs a different set-up. But we have an entire evening to find a solution.”

Nevertheless, the Red Bulls appear on the pace: “Mercedes looks very strong so we’ll have to improve. However, a Friday is never perfect, especially not on a new track. I mean, the circuit is OK. The wind has a big influence on lap times. I also don’t know if we can overtake here or not. I haven’t been close to another car, so we’ll find out in the race.”

At the start of the session, Marcus Ericsson’s garage remains shut. The Swede heavily damaged his car earlier on the day and his mechanics were unable to repair the Sauber ahead of FP2.

In the opening stages, Max and Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) keep trading fastest laps. That is until both Mercedes hit the track. Both Valtteri Bottas and Hamilton outpace the other drivers, with the latter laying claim to P1 for the remainder of the session.

Like FP1, a lot of drivers experience off-track excursions with plenty of (harmless) spins. More serious is Sergio Perez causing a red flag. The left rear wheel of his Force India, decides to go its own way, resulting in the Mexican losing control. Nevertheless, he keeps the car out of the barriers.

When the track is given the all-clear, Max heads straight back out. His first lap on the ultra-softs,  propels him to P3, behind Daniel Ricciardo and a dominant Lewis Hamilton. His Mercedes team mate, Valtteri Bottas, suffers a water leak on his car, limiting his running to 7 laps in the afternoon.

The final half an hour is used for long runs, in preparation for Sunday’s race. Max opts for a used set of super-softs on a longer stint before switching for a final dash on the ultra-softs.

In the closing stages, Brendon Hartley is the cause of a virtual safety car after his Scuderia Toro Rosso has stopped with engine woes. On a positive note, Romain Grosjeas has found some extra speed in front of his home crowd by being sixth quickest at the end of FP2.

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Results second free practice France: