Verstappen fastest then crashes, Leclerc also shunts in FP2

Max Verstappen topped second practice ahead of Formula 1’s Belgian Grand Prix but spun into the barriers and caused a red flag in the final minutes of the session.

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Key moments:

> Verstappen fastest but crashes late on

> Bottas and Hamilton within a tenth on slower tyre

> Leclerc causes earlier red flag with shunt

> Ocon spins but avoids barriers

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While leading the timesheet, Verstappen spun on the exit of the Malmedy right-hander and drifted into the barriers, spreading gravel across the track and bringing FP2 to a premature end with just over three minutes of the session remaining.

There was visible right rear damage to Verstappen’s stranded Red Bull which made contact with the barriers.

Max is ok, but his car has been quite badly damaged by the look of things

The session will not restart#BelgianGP 🇧🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/EvYPqfZ5A6

— Formula 1 (@F1) August 27, 2021

Charles Leclerc had a crash at the entry of the same corner earlier in the session when he was a little too eager on the power on the exit of the Les Combes chicane and his Ferrari speared into the barrier on the entry to the Malmedy right-hander.

Leclerc, who survived a brief trip into the gravel during FP1, sustained significant damage to the front-left of his car and his halted car caused a red flag with just over 15 minutes of the session remaining.

Before/After

We're still waiting for the session to restart#BelgianGP 🇧🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/xXqc08l5ma

— Formula 1 (@F1) August 27, 2021

The session resumed for the final 10 minutes but the order at the top was already solidified with the front-runners using the final moments for their race simulations before Verstappen’s shunt that ended FP2.

It was Verstappen who topped the session with a 1m44.472s, over seventh tenths clear of Valtteri Bottas’s morning benchmark, but he was visibly dejected after his crash.

Bottas was just 0.041s slower than Verstappen while his Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton was just 0.072s adrift of his title rival Verstappen.

Both Mercedes drivers set their times on the medium tyres while Verstappen’s best came on the soft tyres.

Championship leader Hamilton was denied a chance to set his fastest lap in FP1 when he was baulked by Nicholas Latifi, but he enjoyed a much cleaner session.

Fernando Alonso – carrying a helmet camera this weekend – was fourth quickest for Alpine ahead of AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly and Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin.

Hungarian Grand Prix victor Esteban Ocon had a spin on the exit of the Fagnes chicane with just over 20 minutes of the session remaining.

Yellow flags flutter briefly as @OconEsteban goes sideways out of Turn 14 😮

The Alpine driver gets going again and heads back to the pits#BelgianGP 🇧🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/ok4ZJtiMvz

— Formula 1 (@F1) August 27, 2021

He destroyed a set of soft tyres, but the Alpine driver was able to avoid the barriers and return to the pits, before later re-joining the session.

Ocon was able to set the seventh fastest time ahead of Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin), Lando Norris’ McLaren and freshly re-signed 2022 Red Bull driver Sergio Perez.

Practice 2 Results