FP2: Mercedes edge ahead of competition
The second practice session at Circuit de Catalunya saw Mercedes gain an advantage over their rivals as Bottas and Hamilton were a comfortable 3 tenths ahead of the closest Ferrari.
As Bottas continued to reign, Hamilton proved Mercedes were today's team to beat, beaten by his team mate by just 0.049s.
Charles Leclerc came closest to the Silver Arrows while saying after the session that Ferrari had "still not pushed their new package to its full potential". Valtteri Bottas meanwhile praised Mercedes' upgrades as well, confident that there is even more to come, despite already being nearly a full second quicker than during 2018 practice sessions at Barcelona.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen ended up in 5th, making use of the Spec 2 Honda power unit after an engine switch was needed to get an issue of FP1 out of the way. His team mate, Pierre Gasly, ended up 7th.
Around Gasly were both Haas who again performed strongly. Grosjean and Magnussen are eager for a good weekend, after some difficult races in which they struggled to get the Pirelli tyres into the right temperature range.
Carlos Sainz was once again the fastest McLaren driver as Daniil only just made sure Toro Rosso was also presented in the top 10.
Results
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Car | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1:17.284 | 35 | |
| 2 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:17.333 | +0.049s | 35 |
| 3 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:17.585 | +0.301s | 42 |
| 4 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:17.673 | +0.389s | 41 |
| 5 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda | 1:18.035 | +0.751s | 30 |
| 6 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas Ferrari | 1:18.153 | +0.869s | 42 |
| 7 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Red Bull Racing Honda | 1:18.238 | +0.954s | 34 |
| 8 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari | 1:18.355 | +1.071s | 40 |
| 9 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | McLaren Renault | 1:18.658 | +1.374s | 45 |
| 10 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda | 1:18.722 | +1.438s | 40 |
| 11 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari | 1:18.727 | +1.443s | 30 |
| 12 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda | 1:18.779 | +1.495s | 44 |
| 13 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point Bwt Mercedes | 1:18.839 | +1.555s | 33 |
| 14 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 1:18.861 | +1.577s | 43 |
| 15 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | 1:18.934 | +1.650s | 40 |
| 16 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Renault | 1:19.041 | +1.757s | 43 |
| 17 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari | 1:19.427 | +2.143s | 37 |
| 18 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Racing Point Bwt Mercedes | 1:19.448 | +2.164s | 40 |
| 19 | 63 | George Russell | Williams Mercedes | 1:20.191 | +2.907s | 38 |
| 20 | 88 | Robert Kubica | Williams Mercedes | 1:20.781 | +3.497s | 23 |
