Charles Leclerc was fastest in FP2 at Austin as Pirelli’s 2023 tires drew the most attention for Friday’s session.
The Ferrari driver was fastest ahead of Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas and McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo, with the trio being the only three drivers to run the current 2022 compounds in the first part of the session as they vacated their spots for first place practice in the early afternoon.
On the test tyres, Carlos Sainz was the quickest of the runners, albeit 1.422s off Leclerc’s best time, but Mick Schumacher in fifth place was a further 1.2s off Sainz – making the rankings after a session largely devoted to testing , was difficult to read.
After five drivers swapped places for FP1, the regular drivers returned to their cockpits for a longer session in FP2 – with 90 minutes instead of the usual 60.
The extra half hour was the result of Pirelli’s testing of the 2023 tire compounds with the drivers whose sets were unmarked when they took to the track at COTA.
Leclerc took the opportunity to ride early on the current mixes after missing FP1 and quickly went fastest with a 1:36.810 – matching teammate Carlos Sainz’s session best from FP1, while others put the 2023 -Tyres tested.
Old sparring partners Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton came close as both put on flying laps, with the Alpine driver catching up with his former McLaren teammate and complaining that “Hamilton doesn’t have mirrors today” when he couldn’t get out of the went away.
Seeing Seb testing 2023 tires even though he knows he won’t be using them 💔#F1 🇬🇧 #USGP pic.twitter.com/Vx1v2hEXiE
— PlanetF1 (@Planet_F1) October 21, 2022
After meeting Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem was spotted in the Mercedes garage speaking to Toto Wolff during the session – after Ben Sulayem and Horner are believed to have met in Austin on Friday for breaching the Red Bull’s budget ceiling for 2021 had hit.
But back at the track, Kevin Magnussen had to come into his garage after complaining that a part between his legs had come loose while driving, while Lando Norris had a heart-in-mouth moment when he experienced oversteer while entering suffered pit lane and mercifully avoided contact with the wall as he returned to the McLaren garage.
The drivers continued to hammer away at the Pirelli test links. As their grip level/softness was not publicly available, it was difficult to estimate the times the riders were setting in the first half of the session.
Hamilton pushed the limits at Turn 19, however, ran wide on the exit and had to intercept his W13 before it went into a spin.
The extended FP2 session mostly benefited Pirelli for tire testing for next season as the drivers completed long stints on Pirelli’s test rubber for next year.
Leclerc, Bottas and Ricciardo competed on the current tires as they missed FP1, meaning they could use the first half hour of the session to practice as they would have done in FP1.
Saturday’s FP3 will provide a more representative overview of where the teams stand heading into qualifying, with Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes all in the mix based on the results of FP1.
FP2 classification
1 Charles LECLERC Ferrari 1:36.810
2 Valtteri BOTTAS Alfa Romeo +0.715
3 Daniel RICCIARDO McLaren +0.817
4 Carlos SAINZ Ferrari +1.422
5 Mick SCHUMACHER Haas F1 Team +2.697
6 Lando NORRIS McLaren +2.737
7 Max VERSTAPEN Red Bull Racing +2.765
8 Lewis HAMILTONMercedes +2,888
9 Pierre GASLY AlphaTauri +3,030
10Sergio PEREZ Red Bull Racing +3.042
11 Kevin MAGNUSSEN Haas F1 Team +3.274
12 Yuki TSUNODA AlphaTauri +3,368
13 George RUSSELLMercedes +3.752
14 ZHOU Guanyu Alfa Romeo +3.854
15 Lance STROLL Aston Martin +3.996
16 Esteban OCON Alpine +4,500
17 Fernando ALONSO Alpine +4.524
18 Alexander Albon Williams +5.043
19 Sebastian VETTEL Aston Martin +5.047
20 Nicholas LATIFI Williams +5.507
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