FP2: Leclerc leads the way as Ferrari take charge in Zandvoort

It was a Ferrari 1-2 in the second practice session at this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix, with Charles Leclerc narrowly pipping team mate Carlos Sainz to set the fastest time, with rivals Red Bull having a disjointed day.

On a bright and sunny afternoon in Zandvoort, the drivers filed out on track for their first run of the second session, the majority on medium tyres, with Sainz leading the way early on with a time of 1m 13.412s to head Leclerc by 0.025s.

And after 15 minutes of running the drivers made their way back into the pit lane – leaving a silent track - to fit on a pair of brand-new set of soft tyres in preparation for the customary Friday afternoon qualifying simulations.

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And it was Sainz, with a time of 1m 12.349s, who laid down the early gauntlet, as the Scuderia’s rivals tried and failed to beat the Spaniard's time. However, it was ultimately Leclerc who clocked the quickest lap, crossing the line 0.004s faster than his team mate.

McLaren's Lando Norris continued his fine form from FP1 by setting the fourth fastest time, with the Briton sandwiched between the resurgent Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, in third and fifth, respectively.

The Aston Martin of Lance Stroll was sixth quickest, just ahead of his soon-to-be team mate Fernando Alonso in seventh. Esteban Ocon, in the other Alpine, was down in ninth, over four-tenths slower than his team mate.

It was not a great-looking day for Red Bull, as while Max Verstappen – who missed most of FP1 with a transmission issue – was eighth fastest, his team mate Sergio Perez was down in P12.

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Daniel Ricciardo – who had an oil leak on his McLaren's radiator in the latter stages of the session - rounded out the top-10, just ahead of 11th-placed Yuki Tsunoda – who brought out the red flags in FP2 after beaching his AlphaTauri in the gravel at the exit of Turn 10.

Haas’ Mick Schumacher was 13th fastest quickest overall, just ahead of Sebastian Vettel in 14th, eight-tenths slower than his Aston Martin team mate in sixth.

Zhou Guanyu - looking to make up for lost time after missing the first part of FP1 - was down in P15, although he was over half a second faster than his Alfa Romeo team mate Valtteri Bottas in 18th.

AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly – who missed much of FP2 with a technical issue under his seat – was 16th overall in the session, ahead of Williams' Alex Albon in 17th.

The second Haas of Kevin Magnussen was in P19, ahead of Nicholas Latifi, who ended the session nearly a second slower than Williams team mate Albon.