Red Bull took firm control of things during the second practice session at a dry Spa-Francorchamps on Friday afternoon, until fastest man Sebastian Vettel was brought to a halt by a deflated right rear medium-compound tyre. Pirelli suspect that it was a puncture, the cause of which is currently being investigated.
The world champion had lapped in 1m 49.331s prior to that incident, just 0.059s ahead of team mate Mark Webber who had previously set the pace.
The Australian in turn was 0.818s ahead of Romain Grosjean - the arch-villain of last year's race - who lapped his Lotus E21 in 1m 50.149s. Next up was the in-form Felipe Massa who had took his Ferrari round in 1m 50.164s. Jean-Eric Vergne gave himself a boost with fifth fastest time of 1m 50.253s for Toro Rosso, as Kimi Raikkonen finished sixth in the second Lotus on 1m 50.318s, just ahead of Fernando Alonso in the second Ferrari on 1m 50.510s.
Sergio Perez gave McLaren a major boost with the eighth fastest time of 1m 50.536s, leaving Nico Rosberg to take ninth on 1m 50.601s for Mercedes ahead of the Force Indias of Paul di Resta and Adrian Sutil on 1m 50.611s and 1m 50.629s.
It was a bad day in the office for Mercedes as Lewis Hamilton described his W04 as being "all over the place," on the harder tyre and could not better 1m 50.751s for 12th on a circuit where the car had been expected to excel.
Despite Spa being the longest circuit on the calendar, the times were extremely close behind the Red Bulls, with Nico Hulkenberg and Pastor Maldonado completing the sub-1m 51s runners with 1m 50.972s and 1m 50.991s for Sauber and Williams respectively. That put them within eight-tenths of Grosjean.
Jenson Buttons morning promise evaporated with the rain as he was left in 15th place on 1m 51.195s, ahead of Toro Rosso's Daniel Ricciardo on 1m 51.447s and Williams' Valtteri Bottas on 1m 51.568s.
Despite a crash at Curve Paul Frere when he lost the back of his Caterham, Giedo van der Garde was the team's faster runner on 1m 53.157s, with team mate Charles Pic next up on 1m 53.251s. Jules Bianchi was Marussia's lead runner on 1m 53.482s, with partner Max Chilton 22nd on 1m 54.418s after a steering rack change. (Formula1.com)
FP2: Red Bull Racing dictates the pace in Belgium
- Published on 23 Aug 2013 16:53
-
0
- By: Rob Veenstra
F1 News
Fernando Alonso
Jenson Button
Valtteri Bottas
Felipe Massa
Romain Grosjean
Pastor Maldonado
Daniel Ricciardo
Lewis Hamilton
Nico Rosberg
Sebastian Vettel
Sergio Perez
Lotus F1
Ferrari
Pirelli
Mercedes
Sauber
Williams
McLaren
Marussia
.
Trending news
-
Why Verstappen's rare Zandvoort mistake shocked Timo GlockMax Verstappen's heavy crash at the Dutch Grand Prix left Timo Glock relieved the Red Bull driver escaped unscath...
26 Aug 2026 17:04 -
Max Verstappen's wildest racing challenge yet revealedMax Verstappen will return to karting next month in a format never seen before. The Red Bull Racing driver will face ...
26 Aug 2026 16:02 -
Why Verstappen's rare Zandvoort error stunned his ex-Red Bull mechanicMax Verstappen's heavy first-lap crash at Zandvoort has left those closest to him visibly shaken, with former Red...
26 Aug 2026 15:00 -
New F1 circuit sees nineteen red flags in single day of testingFormula 3's first proper test at Madrid's new street circuit descended into chaos this week, with nineteen re...
26 Aug 2026 13:58 -
Why McLaren is ready to hand Norris a contract beyond 2030Lando Norris is expected to become the latest driver to commit his long-term future to a single team, with McLaren pr...
26 Aug 2026 12:57
Dutch Grand Prix
Local time
-
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Dutch Grand Prix
Local time
-
Friday
-
Saturday
-
Sunday
-
Friday
-
Saturday
-
Sunday
Test calendar
Circuit de Catalunya - Winter testing
-
Jan 26
I. Hadjar
- 1:18.159
-
-
-
Jan 27
M. Verstappen
- 1:19.578
-
-
-
Jan 28
A. Antonelli
- 1:17.362
-
-
-
Jan 29
G. Russell
- 1:16.445
-
-
-
Jan 30
L. Hamilton
- 1:16.348
-
-
Bahrain International Circuit - Winter testing
-
Feb 11
L. Norris
- 1:34.669
-
-
-
Feb 12
C. Leclerc
- 1:34.273
-
-
-
Feb 13
A. Antonelli
- 1:33.669
-
-
Bahrain International Circuit - Winter testing
-
Feb 18
G. Russell
- 1:33.459
-
-
Feb 19
A. Antonelli
- 1:32.803
-
-
Feb 20
C. Leclerc
- 1:31.992
-
-
World Championship standings 2026
Pos
Driver
Team
Points
Pos
Team
Points
Related news
Give your opinion!
Formula 1 Calendar - 2026
Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Spain
-
Bahrain
-
Bahrain
Formula 1 Calendar - 2026
Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
-
Spain
Circuit de Catalunya
-
Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
-
Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
6 - Mar 8
Australia
Albert Park
13 - Mar 15
27 - Mar 29
Japan
Circuit Suzuka
10 - Apr 12
Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
17 - Apr 19
Saudi Arabia
Jeddah Street Circuit
1 - May 3
United States of America
Miami International Autodrome
22 - May 24
Canada
Gilles Villeneuve
5 - Jun 7
Monaco
Monte Carlo
12 - Jun 14
Spain
Circuit de Catalunya
26 - Jun 28
Austria
Red Bull Ring
3 - Jul 5
United Kingdom
Silverstone
17 - Jul 19
Belgium
Spa-Francorchamps
24 - Jul 26
Hungary
Hungaroring
21 - Aug 23
Netherlands
Circuit Zandvoort
Driver profile
- Team Aston Martin
- Points 631
- Podiums 9
- Grand Prix 204
- Country ES
- Date of b. Jul 29 1981 (45)
- Place of b. Oviedo, ES
- Weight 68 kg
- Length 1.71 m
- 188,072 comments on Aston Martin
78 members have this team as their favourite
Tweets about Fernando Alonso
Team profile
- Team name Lotus F1
- Base Enstone, United Kingdom
- Daniel Ricciardo 3
- Kimi Räikkönen 7
- Romain Grosjean 8
- Kimi Räikkönen 9
- Romain Grosjean 10
- Pastor Maldonado 13
- Pastor Maldonado 13
- Kevin Magnussen 20
- Nico Hülkenberg 27
- Jolyon Palmer 30
- Esteban Ocon 31
- Carlos Sainz jr 55
- 65,124 comments on Lotus F1
- 17 members have this team as their favourite
- Tweets about Lotus F1
Replies (0)
Login to reply