By: After an exciting first session, it is time to find out whether what we saw was confirmed or not.
Green light
As the lights went out, the second free practice session got under way, with the drivers beginning to head out on track. Among the first was Max Verstappen, who set his first time on medium tyres, a 1:24.719.
The first benchmark times then came from Kimi Antonelli, Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris, who occupied positions one to four. It is worth noting that in this opening phase the aforementioned drivers chose the medium tyre, while Antonelli, Norris and Russell opted for the hardest compound.
After several attempts, George Russell set the fastest time on hard tyres. Antonelli switched to the softs and began his qualifying simulation, although he did not complete the lap because of Bortoleto traffic. He went again nonetheless and set the fastest time with a 1:22.700, only to be beaten immediately by Russell by just 14 thousandths.
Everyone out on soft tyres
With half an hour remaining, all the drivers began their qualifying simulations, led by the Mercedes pair. The first of the others to set a time was Colapinto, in fifth, followed by Carlos Sainz, who finished 15th.
The two Ferraris set the most significant benchmarks: Leclerc went to the top, while Hamilton finished fourth. Verstappen could manage only seventh. The two McLarens then went out, with Norris finishing fourth and Piastri sixth. The last of the frontrunners to begin his run was Russell, who set the fastest time, beating Leclerc by just over a tenth.
After this first soft-tyre run, Russell, Leclerc and Norris were three of the four drivers at the top of the timesheets to return to the pits.
Meanwhile, as we know, Antonelli will start from the back and turned his attention to race-pace simulation work, an activity the others also began. It is worth highlighting that Ferrari carried out its simulation on soft tyres, while McLaren, for example, only chose the same compound towards the end.
Ferrari's pace in the simulation was noteworthy, given the number of laps completed on the soft tyre, as was Mercedes' consistency with Russell, who remains the favourite. Red Bull should also be watched closely.
See you tomorrow for the third free practice session.
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