F1 GP Great Britain, Free Practice 2: Bottas confirms the leadership, but Hamilton's pace scares his rivals

Best time for Valtteri Bottas in the second free practice session valid for the British Grand Prix, thirteenth round of the 2017 Formula One World Championship. The Mercedes Finn confirmed his best performance this morning, posting an excellent 1'28"496, just a few thousandths ahead of his teammate, Lewis Hamilton. Note the excellent start of the Finn, who was immediately at ease around the bends of the Silverstone track. Bottas confirmed Austria's excellent sensations, keeping pace with the very fast Hamilton, second with a gap behind his direct rivals for the championship.

The Englishman finished with a time of 1'28"523, making the most of the soft compound. The Englishman showed great pace during the afternoon, especially with the new soft tire fitted at the end of the stint, confirming that he is the number one favorite for the final victory. A very positive day for Mercedes on a track quite favorable for the W08 EQ-Power. Third position for Kimi Raikkonen, author of an error at the Becketts but quite competitive in terms of pace, followed by Sebastian Vettel, very competitive in terms of pace and the only one to keep up with the Englishman's pace, Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo. Ferrari managed to improve the balance compared to the morning, suffering less from the lack of grip and the cold on the track. Confirmations from Red Bull instead as the RB13 proved to be very fast and competitive in all conditions. Followed by Nico Hulkenberg, Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso, author of an excellent day with the MCL32. Esteban Ocon completes the top ten.

See you tomorrow, 11.00 am, for the third and final free practice session from Silverstone.

FINAL CLASSIFICATION FP2 British Grand Prix | Silverstone
1 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1m28.496s – 31
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m28.543s 0.047s 35
3 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1m28.828s 0.332s 36
4 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1m28.956s 0.460s 36
5 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Renault 1m29.098s 0.602s 32
6 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull/Renault 1m29.586s 1.090s 35
7 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1m29.936s 1.440s 37
8 Felipe Massa Williams/Mercedes 1m30.006s 1.510s 36
9 Fernando Alonso McLaren/Honda 1m30.238s 1.742s 28
10 Esteban Ocon Force India/Mercedes 1m30.383s 1.887s 42
11 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso/Renault 1m30.555s 2.059s 26
12 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso/Renault 1m30.562s 2.066s 34
13 Sergio Perez Force India/Mercedes 1m30.624s 2.128s 43
14 Romain Grosjean Haas/Ferrari 1m30.661s 2.165s 33
15 Lance Stroll Williams/Mercedes 1m30.695s 2.199s 37
16 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren/Honda 1m30.782s 2.286s 31
17 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1m30.835s 2.339s 33
18 Jolyon Palmer Renault 1m30.879s 2.383s 25
19 Marcus Ericsson Sauber/Ferrari 1m31.616s 3.120s 27
20 Pascal Wehrlein Sauber/Ferrari 1m31.929s 3.433s 30

Roberto Valenti