McLaren shines in race pace, but Verstappen’s Red Bull is still in contention. Ferrari continues comparing updates
During this afternoon’s FP2, all 10 teams conducted race simulations until rain began to fall on the Silverstone circuit. Teams had to anticipate their programs due to weather forecasts, which proved accurate as rain arrived in the last 5 minutes of the session.
For Sunday’s strategies, all teams will likely opt for a single stop, starting with medium tires and switching to hards, utilizing the lower fuel load. Soft tires are expected to be avoided due to their shorter lifespan of about ten laps.
A variable in this strategy could be the possible appearance of a Safety Car, a common occurrence at Silverstone. Remember the 2022 race when a Safety Car entered with 15 laps to go, prompting all drivers except leader Charles Leclerc to pit for softer tires. This led to Carlos Sainz’s first career victory while Leclerc dropped off the podium.
Race Pace Analysis FP2 Silverstone: Today’s Times!
In today’s qualifying simulation, McLaren appears to be the car to beat, with an outstanding Lando Norris hungry for redemption after a contact with Max Verstappen. Norris was three-tenths ahead of his teammate, while the reigning champion was only seventh, having missed his second flying lap due to an error.
Race simulation times tell the same story: McLaren remains the fastest, especially on medium tires. Lando Norris consistently clocked in the high 1:31s, with only one 1:33 due to a small off, making him the favorite for Sunday’s race, though fuel loads are unknown.
Oscar Piastri seemed to struggle more. The Australian opted for the softer compound but dropped off after three strong laps, hitting 1:33s, confirming that Soft tires won’t be ideal for the race.
Mercedes drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton also used Softs in their race simulations but saw their times drop off to 1:33s after 5-6 laps due to degradation.
Red Bull remains a bit of an unknown. Max Verstappen posted some interesting laps, like a 1:31.673 on his seventh lap, but didn’t show the same consistency as Norris’s McLaren. However, as seen in 2024’s practice sessions, Red Bull tends to hide their true potential until qualifying and race day.
Ferrari’s race pace is harder to interpret. Leclerc tested the new upgrade package while Sainz ran with the older spec. Ferrari focused on comparing the two packages rather than a true race simulation
Leclerc was inconsistent and generally slower than Norris’s McLaren on the same tire, while Sainz discarded the Softs after three laps, switching to mediums. Thus, today’s data doesn’t reflect Ferrari’s true potential, which should be clearer tomorrow.
Photo: Mclaren F1 Team, GPKingdom.